A Cocoon of Ice
by LeShyWolf
Summary: I was harshly ripped from my life and catapulted into another. For one hundred and sixty years, I've been sleeping in a metallic tube cryogenically frozen, preserved and lunged through the wraps of time into the dimension of Mass Effect, a year before Eden Prime. Not even miracles can help me now. Self-Insert.
1. Chapter 1- The Butterfly

**Thank you for giving this fic a chance :D**

**T'is a bit slow starting off, but I hope you enjoy it.**

**By writing this, doesn't mean I'm giving up on my other ME story, it's more a fun thing with my friend, Beta and Co-Author Charlie019 :']**

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><p><span><em><strong>Chapter 1- The Butterfly<strong>_

_**2182, Abandoned facility.**_

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><p>"Interesting."<p>

Floating down the corridor using the thrusters built in his air tight space worthy suit, the man frowned, staring at his omni-tool while reaching out, anchoring himself against the wall so he wouldn't overshoot his destination.

"How bad is it?" He asked, frowning as he looked through the readings displayed on the holographic screen.

"Enough to get us sick without medication but not enough to kill us." Came the feminine reply through the tiny implant in his ear. Gérard shrugged, or as much as one could while floating in a zero gravity environment. Could be worse. Much worse. A little bit of radiation wasn't as bad as say, defunct malfunctioning mining equipment, which he had seen blown a fist sized hole through the chest of a man, despite his armor.

"Keep looking, radio in if you find anything noteworthy." He signed off, looking at a rather old sign that gave directions. It didn't look that old though, since its a derelict floating in space, and there's no atmosphere or whatever one could think off to wear it down. Unless say, this place had an unfortunate encounter with an asteroid, or got caught in a solar flare, which would incinerate and melt everything, since it wasn't that far away from the system's local star.

Or worse, considering how old everything looked. Some of the equipment even looked like something that came from the early twenty first century era, though he had doubts about that. That was a time when his ancestors were barely capable of sending something up into orbit without getting tied down by countless bureaucratic problems and budget problems. A time where the spacecraft were described as metal coffins by modern pilots.

"Radiation?" Another voice sounded in his ear, causing him to look back at the figure who had just caught up with him, floating by slowly while inverted. Or at least he believed its inverted. It was hard to tell the difference between the ups and downs of this space junk. "Think we stumbled upon an old weapons supply dump?"

"Nope." He replied offhandedly, eyeing one of the two passageways available to him. "If we are in an old weapons supply dump, then a radiation leak would have doomed us all, even if we OD on rad meds. A very old exploration craft from before the First Contact era seems more likely." He paused to think, resisting the urge to scratch his head. "Doesn't look Alliance, probably from the EU or Federation. Maybe New Zealand even."

"Well…" The Salarian muttered, kicking off the wall gently so he could swing around and 'stand' on the wall. "Then there wouldn't be much for us to find or do here. Except carving our names into the hull to show that we were here."

"As long as you don't trip some security system off, least of all we end up being found floating about a hundred years later for some scavenger or curious explorer to find."

"What security system?" He scoffed, dismissing the notion. "In this hunk of space junk? What's it going to do? Jettison us out of the airlock? Oh wait, we cut our way through that to get in."

"Blow your head off with a defunct medical equipment perhaps." Gérard shrugged, pushing off the wall as he shot across the corridor, using the thrusters to halt himself as he neared the end, least he ended up pasting himself messily on the wall of a random wreck floating in vacuum.

"Found something, come check it out. You'll wanna see this." A small orange triangle appeared on his HUD, indicating where she is. At the bottom left where the incomplete map of the derelict was, a route is highlighted to guide him there.

"What is it?" Frowning, he turned and pushed himself off the 'floor' once more, rocketing back the way he came from and past the flailing Salarian awkwardly trying to change direction or stop himself from moving. He glared at him but Gérard ignored his narrowed bug eyes. "Any clue?"

"Don't know. Looks like a sleeper pod, or a storage container. Or a coffin. I don't know, you are the expert here."

Of course. He rolled his eyes. He had been at least hoping to find the engine room to this thing and look around for a bit, see what kind of crap his great grandfather used back in the day but with these much interruptions, each listed as 'important' to garner his attention…

A whole lot of bloody idiots.

"So." Looking over the four figures anchored down on the floor with magnetic boots, hunched over something by the wall, three Human and one Asari, he spoke up. "What is it? I swear if its another…"

"There's something alive in this thing." The woman interrupted him, drawing his attention.

Joining the group by the boxy object, he took the sight in. She had been right when she used the word 'coffin' to describe it, because that's exactly what it looked like. "Someone's alive in this thing?"

"Or something." She shrugged. "Don't really know, can barely get a bloody reading out of this damn thing because its technology is too old to even sync with my omni-tool. Closest we have is some datapad Alyna found, but that too, like every bloody thing in here, is broken."

"What a surprise…" He stated dryly. "This some stasis or sleeper pod?"

"Cryogenic pod actually." She corrected. "A very old, miraculously working cryogenetic pod. Probably dates way back to the Second American Civil War."

"Can't be. The ones back then were known to malfunction at an alarming frequency and a high mortality rate for anyone suicidal enough to give it a go." One of the other humans, the one currently fiddling with what that seemed to be like the control panel of the pod, Matton, spoke up. "Are you sure this dates way back to nearly a hundred years ago?"

"Not exactly impossible." Gérard corrected him. "The cryopods manufactured by Manswell weren't as bad, and have a much high success and survival rate. Shame though, because he took every last one of his pods, the research and anything pertaining to them when he took of on that mad space expedition of his."

"Okay, then how do you explain this?" Matton gestured at the pod. "Or you are suggesting that we are looking at what's left of the expedition and are currently standing in the tomb of three hundred people, including that bastard billionaire himself?"

"Too small to accommodate three hundred people I'm afraid." Noting other similar looking pods in the room, he gestured at them. "What about those? Anyone alive in them?"

"Nope."

"Nada."

"That's a negative."

"No."

"If you don't mind me asking," the woman spoke up, turning to look at him. "What are we going to do with this thing?"

The diminutive Asari amongst them stepped forward slightly, a soft whisper that was barely heard despite the voice amplifiers that did its best to transmit whatever she said as clearly as it could to everyone. "Open it?"

"Sure… open a random old space pod that we just found… inside a random space derelict that we just found… in the middle of nowhere." Matton scoffed. "Who knows what kind of security system this thing has. For all we know, cracking this casket could trigger some failsafe that goes on to vaporize all of us. I say," he tapped the side of the pod for emphasis. "we just sell what we found to the Alliance. They should be interested enough at some century old wreck of ours, enough to pay us quite a sum for its location anyway."

"And leave them to deal with whatever kind of shit that could be waiting in the pod instead of us." The woman remarked, nodding in agreement. "Smart."

Naturally, and oddly unsurprisingly, the Salarian was quick to protest. "You are just going to leave it there? Leave whoever that's trapped in there to freeze? Need I remind everyone that there's something alive in there?"

"This thing is nearly a hundred years old and its still working." Matton retorted, shrugging again. "A couple more days wouldn't hurt."

"It could become a tomb in that couple days." The Salarian shot back before turning to Gérard. "What say you Monteil? Should we crack it open, or leave it for the Alliance?"

Gérard paused in thought.

Cracking the pod open had its benefits, namely being that they get to claim whatever they found, along with any scientific and research discoveries they could make, to their name instead of having some random Alliance personal take the credit because he or she was simply there to push the button. No worries about anyone trying to stake a claim at the credit that was rightfully theirs. Plus there's just so much more he wanted to have a look around before handing it over to the proper authorities…

Scientific reasons aside, it was also… the humane thing to do as some would put it.

Then again, tinkering with old technology, especially one that they barely understood was undeniably dangerous. Defunct Turian mining equipment especially. Why would the Turians have built in kinetic rail modulators into a mining laser, he would never understand. Its a mining laser, not a bloody bazooka.

That aside, operating something they barely understand would be the same as handing terrorist a nuclear weapon based on the assumption that they would be too stupid to understand how to use it.

But then again, risks was what that made his line of work interesting.

Not to mention… he liked danger.

"Prep the pod." He ordered. If they were going to open it… they need to seal the room and pump some air into it, least whatever that's inside died of asphyxiation the moment the pod opened. There's also the lack of gravity but it shouldn't really matter. Plus there were other more important factors that should be considered before…

Letting that thought trail off, Gérard started giving orders.

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><p><em><span><strong>2182, Abandoned facility<strong>_

_**Day 1**_

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><p>It was peaceful.<p>

For a while, I saw nothing. Blackness. But it was a blackness that was warm, engulfing me like a loving and protecting mother. It carried me. It let me glide through the abyss. It allowed my body to float serenely. Nothing disturbed me. I could hear nothing. I could see nothing. I could smell nothing.

I felt nothing.

No anger. No frustration. No hope. No solid emotion.

It certainly was sudden. Like a trapdoor flew out from underneath me. Air slapped me in the face. I woke up, breathless and choking like something was blocking my lungs. I had attempted to gasp and desperately clung to the small amount of air, due the near impossible tightness and pain in my chest I found it nearly impossible. It was alarmingly cold. And dark. So, so, very dark. I couldn't see a thing.

W-what?

I tried to move, to make a sound, but my hands felt heavy, immensely so, like anvils were weighing them down. There was something blocking my throat, something cold, painfully cold.

Why is it so dark?

Even though it hurt, even though it was very difficult, I forced my arms up with the diminutive, limited strength I had, only to harshly bang them against a similarly freezing surface just a few inches in front of me. Worry and confusion began to rise, rushing through my veins. Why is it so crammed?

I opened my mouth to scream, yell, to make a sound, to do anything except just lay there like a vegetable. My hands moves to slap on the wall in front of me as panic began to swell in my chest. Pants started to come out shorter and more rapidly. I can't breathe.

Without warning, my knees collapsed and buckled. Something horrid forcibly pushed and lunged up my throat. I quickly snapped my hands to my mouth, biting down on it and tried to keep whatever that it was down. A second later, despite my efforts, I regurgitated a freezing liquid out of my mouth, drenching my front in it.

The chillness of it all caused me to shiver violently as I took in my first breath, cold air entering my lungs, cutting into them painfully like a thousand knives as I grimaced, teeth chattering.

There was a hiss, then the sound of machines, a hint of light breaking through and cutting across the darkness. The sudden, burning brightness blinded me, causing black spots to appear in my vision and stars to dance in front of my gaze, a searing pain at the back of my eyes exploded and I weakly waved my hands. A stinging scraped across the surface of my palms.

"...ere..e… s-"

An agonizing screeching shot through my skull. My dry feeling lips spread apart in an effort to beg for it to stop as pain slowly crawled over my body. I wanted to pick up my arms. I wanted to jump. I wanted to do something instead of being this immobile.

So… cold...

It's freezing…

…

...Where am I?

Light prevented me from seeing anything. It hurt to open my eyes. I clenched them shut, feeling my entire body shake from head to toe. Ice coiled around my spine, it flooded through my system and I trembled. With the speed my teeth were chattering, I wouldn't be surprised if they were faster than hummingbird's wings. I couldn't hear anything, a high pitched shriek whistled in my eardrums, muffling everything around me.

Cold... cold… cold… cold.

Too… cold.

My blood rushed to my head as my shuddering body slowly flipped upside down without my consent, lifting without my control. It was as if I were a puppet, my strings being jerked left and right by the puppeteer. My arm, without me moving it, swayed to the side, my leg did the same.

"...old... er."

Something was pressed against my mouth, enveloping both that and my nose. A hissing noise, I struggled to pry it off before a wave of fresh air came over it, making breathing much more tolerable as opposed to the cold vapors and stale air earlier.

Something hot washes in my chest, releasing the solid pressure pushing onto my lungs. I found myself breaking into a coughing fit and opened my eyes again. I blinked frequently but still didn't get used to the light shielding my view from my surroundings. My ears perked at more sounds that slithered through the incoherent, blurred blockages. It was still very difficult to make anything out.

Why is it… so… cold?

Cold?

Why?

Something cold and hard firmly grabbed hold of my arm, pulling me forward, though I only felt my upper body being pulled forward, leaving me levitating in a 'horizontal position.

Am I… floating?

Why do I feel weightless?

"...ey… Hey!"

I still felt groggy, but regardless, I pried my eyes open forcibly, my desire to know what was happening around me outweighed my personal comfort at the moment.

… what?

Five silhouettes, all looking like blurry, boxy figures. Robots? Machines? Animals? People? I can't make out a thing.

"...ello? Hello? You with us?" It came from the one holding me, voice oddly distorted and muffled. My vision cleared slightly, and I found myself staring into a pair of black eye lenses.

I opened my mouth and attempted to ask, what the hell is going on? Where am I? Who are you?

Instead, an unintelligible, slobbish blowing of raspberries spluttered out of me. It was a gibberish mesh of words. It was difficult to form letters, to form familiar sounds of communication. It was like a horrible train wreck.

"Give her some time." Someone at the back said, voice similarly distorted and muffled, like it had been filtered through a voice amplifier or something. "She might still need sometime to shake off the cryo sleep."

...cryo sleep?

What the hell?

"Whaaaa- ureeeh-?" The incoherent word slurred out. The brightness of the room very slowly dimmed down, allowing me to make out the forms of bewildered people standing around me. Black spots fizzled in my vision, but I could mostly see.

"Or not." Someone else mumbled, an impassive look behind her open faced helmet unlike some of the others. I was disturbed, however, when I realized she was upside down. My eyes drifted to the floor only to conclude that it wasn't her upside down.

It was me.

What the hell is going on?

The woman was wearing some kind of hardsuit that covered her whole body. Everyone was, I realised after looking around, wearing that seemingly form fitting hardsuit. Though one of them had an odd elongated helmet for some reason.

"Wha-wha-wh-wha-?" My teeth were shattering, not at all helping with speaking. I felt a wave of goosebumps spike up on my skin. There was a tingling sensation running up and down my legs, like pins and needles. I cringed uncomfortably, feeling my body quake at the cold.

"Easy, easy there." The first figure called out, pulling me down and setting me straight, or as straight as one could get given its current weightless state. Why aren't they floating around? "Don't know how long you've been in there, or why but right now you need to relax. Can you do that?"

I didn't know how else to respond. At the moment I was doing everything else but relaxing. My shoulders tensed and untensed. My hands curled into fists and unclenched. It was hard to stay still, considering the majority of my body was behaving like a shaking fish out of water. I was still gasping for air despite the oxygen easily shooting in and out of my burning lungs. My trembling hands reached up and wrapped tightly around my upper torso as I hunched over.

"C-c-co-co-co-col-!" Even though I couldn't finish what I was saying, the tone of desperation was definitely clear. It was too cold. I couldn't bend my fingers. My toes were impossible to curl or wiggle around. It even got to the point where it started to hurt. A whimper squeezed out of me.

Need. Warm. Too. Cold.

My blood felt like ice.

"Ah, yes. Give it a while for your body to warm up first." The figure at the back instructed, though despite the face concealing helmet he's wearing, it was seemingly clear that he was more fascinated at the metal coffin rather than my well being. "Interesting, cryonics procedure lacks proper drugs to prevent potential cell damage from the subzero temperatures…"

"How about we give her something to cover herself first?" The woman snapped, annoyance laced in her features.

Hearing the woman's statement I had a glance down my body to realize that I was in some kind of tight, white fitted underwear. It didn't cover much, only the important parts, but still it was rather exposing. This embarrassment brought a form of heat rising through my neck to my cheeks, to which I was both grateful for, but also still a little humiliated to be this bare in front of others.

The only reason I didn't die of embarrassment right then and there, was because I compared it to me being on the beach with a bikini. It's okay. It's okay. It's fine.

If I could, I would have hugged the considerate woman with all my might. Unfortunately, I still found it a bit hard to move. Please. Please. Please. Clothes. Blanket. Anything.

The man looked around, then shrugged. "Doubtful, considering that none of us prepared anything for that. Unless you want to open the door back to the ship to go get it, but the decompression will kill her."

My brows furrowed at his words, trying to make sense of them. My brain was a little hazy, still fighting through static to see any logic. I shrugged it off, just trying to keep myself warm in the room of strangers. I didn't know how in the hell I was floating or what I was doing there in this weird room, but all I wanted and could focus on was the lack of warmth.

Cold. So cold.

"We brought a spare suit didn't we?"

"Oh right." The first figure reached down to some mechanical utility box, similarly anchored to the ground by some invisible means, pressing a few buttons on it. Am I the only one floating about? The box unfolded, revealing a similar set of whatever these people were wearing.

They passed it to the woman, who approached me. I felt myself being lowered to the ground and I stared at the suit like it was a rubix cube. She, seeing the bewildered expression etching along my features, helped me put it on, moving my rigid arms through the sleeves and the same with my legs, before getting behind me and zipping it up. Almost instantly, a warmth flooded over my body, coating it and engulfing my skin. I let out a shuddery breath of relief.

"T-th-thh-thhh-tha-than-y-o-yo-" My blood boiled in frustration, but she seemed to understand what I was trying to tell her.

"Well that certainly sped up the warming up process…" The guy at the back shrugged, though it was nearly unnoticeable given the hardsuit he's wearing, to which the woman helping me shot him a look before reaching over and doing something to my suit.

The next second, my feet were pulled towards the floor, slamming them into it and causing me to wave about wildly as I tried to keep straight. Oddly, I didn't fall over, even though at one point my body was bent at a near seventy degree angle. It was like something was anchoring my feet to the ground, and just my feet. Magnetic boots?

I finally got a proper chance to look around, to say the least I was surprised I wasn't having a panic attack. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie, pristine white walls, grey nondescript flooring, or metal tiles, a couple displays, some of which were no longer attached to what they were supposed to be connected to, instead floating around the room, just like I did moments ago.

It once again begged the question, where the hell am I?

"Wh-whe-where-?" I managed. The snapping of my teeth had died down a little. I forced the words through my mouth. "Whe-where a-am I-I-I?"

"Somewhere four hundred and thirteen thousand kilometers away from the nearest planet." Was the reply as the guy at the back moved to the machine that trapped me, something glowing around in his arm as he studied the contraception.

My eyes widened. What feels like a sledgehammer harshly collided with my chest, winding me as I stared out at the man with shock. My blood rushes through my veins and I could feel my heart hammering against my ribcage painfully. "W...w-what?"

"Four hundred and thirteen thousand kilometers away from the nearest planet and seven hundred and forty eight kilometers away from the nearest star in the system." He repeated, waving his 'glowing' hand over the machine as he responded to me with an almost bored tone, underline by his general interest of the hunk of metal before him.

He must be joking.

"S-seriously, whe-where are we?" I asked again, frozen to the spot for a minute before shaking my head. The back of my knees knocked against a metallic wall when I took a step back, wobbling around unsteadily as I tried to get used to walking with magnetic boots on.

"Horse Head Nebula, Pax System. Four hundred and thirteen thousand kilometers away from the nearest planet and seven hundred and forty eight kilometers away from the local star." He once again repeated in the same tone.

Annoyance swelled up inside me. When I tried to strengthen my voice, it failed and it broke pathetically halfway between speaking. My breathing had increased. I gripped the wall. "S-stop joking a-around. Te-tell me the truth."

"Orbiting Coruscant, about to be blasted into oblivion by a Star Destroyer commanded by Darth Vader who for some odd reason wants us all dead." Was the dry reply as he too similarly got annoyed by my questions.

I tried to move away from the wall but stumbled and had to grip onto the nearby machine to keep myself up. Craning my head up weakly, I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes into slits. "W-where am I? Who a-are you people? S-stop lying!"

"Klingons." He droned, no longer bothering with giving me a straight answer as the woman rolled her eyes.

"Somewhere above Veles, in the same system as Noveria." She told me, turning to the man. "Damn it Gérard, she asked you a question."

"If she isn't prepared to receive a straight answer then she probably shouldn't even ask it or better yet, straight up call me a liar."

Wait...

Noveria?

That's impossible.

I ignored them and lurched forward, my feet struggled to lift. They slammed against the hard surface of the ground, against the magnetic pull. They trudged along and instantly nausea whipped into me. Bile clawed up my throat. I pressed my palms against my mouth, doubling over as I kept it down. My eyes watered as the burn scorched in my throat and I swallowed the foul taste. I gagged and shuddered.

The fast movement caused black spots to dance in my vision again. I shivered, holding onto my stomach as if my organs were about to spill out.

"P-please-" I didn't know quite what I was begging for. Water? Comfort? A bed? Medicine? My mother? No more lies? Maybe it was a mix of all of them. Sickness swirled around my head like a hurricane roughly twirling in my brain. There was a tight churn in the pit of my stomach.

A string of questions slapped me. A shower, with the weight of bricks, collided with my skull.

Where? Where? Where?

There's a block in my way. Everything is aggravatingly blank. I tried to recall the last thing that happened to me, but I couldn't. It hurt when I tried to remember. Tears stung my eyes, a deep throbbing that was almost agonizing pierced my head. I cried out, letting out a hysterical yell. I found my nails scratching my scalp, pulling and yanking hard on my hair.

I can't remember. I can't remember. I. Can't. Remember.

Can't remember. Can't remember. Can't remember.

What happened? What happened? What happened?

Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?

Where? Why? How? Why? Why am I here? Who are these people?

Where? Where? WHERE?

WHERE AM I?!

"Where am I?!" I found myself screeching out and hunched down to my knees. I curled into a ball, hands raking through my hair. My voice rose in volume and it pained me to shout, but I didn't care at this point. I was sobbing the question, desperate for an answer. "Where? Where?! WHERE?!"

There was a brief moment of silence, broken when the elongated helmet guy spoke up. "The human appears delusional."

"Anyone wants to open the door?" Gérard asked, sparing me a brief glance before facing the people staring down at me. "It may be... merciful."

I cried, collapsing on my knees. To me, it was just a cloud of immense confusion and a bundle of frustration. To them, it probably looked like the mumbling of a crazy person. I didn't blame them if they thought I was crazy. Where? Can't remember. Why? "Can't remember… why? I can't remember."

There was a buzzing pain in my head, then a high pitched hiss that slowly rose. I sobbed, grabbing my head. I gasped. "It… hurts… it hurts... It hurts! It hurts! I can't remember!" All I remembered was pain. Cold. So dark. So much pain. So fucking cold. "Stop it. Please! Stop it! Stop it!"

"Oh dear oh dear…" He shook his head. "We woke a lunatic."

There's something warm on my shoulder. I flinched, but didn't run away. It was assuring. When I looked up, I saw the woman kneeling in front of me with a soft look of sympathy. "Shh, it's okay. It's okay, you're safe here."

"Give her a break Gérald." She barked with an irritated sneer. "We don't know how long she's been in there, or who put her in there. It doesn't look like she volunteered to me. She's just scared." She stroked my arm, squeezing slightly. I froze when she gently gathered me in her arms like a loving mother. She rubbed my back. "It's okay sweetie. You're fine here. You're safe."

"Can't remember." I mumbled into her neck, tense as she held me. "I-I-I can't remember-!"

"Temporary amnesia is normal under these conditions." She told me matter of fact, calm and collected. Unlike me, a mess. "You will remember, but right now you have to calm down. Breathe, honey. Breathe."

I choked on a sob and found myself clutching at this stranger. I hiccuped, struggling to do as she said. My lunged shuddered, but eventually I managed to slow my breathing. Her fingertips massaged the back of my scalp to help ease my anxiety. My nails dug into her arms like talons, clinging to her.

"Of course she didn't volunteer, no sane person would want to go into that horribly designed and heavily flawed deathtrap willingly." Gérard scoffed, only to stop when the one with the elongated helmet tapped his shoulder. His head turned, lowered as a low some emitted from within his helmet, before moving to the other caskets in the room with the other person with the odd helmet.

Even I stopped crying, the woman had helped me to my feet. I stood and felt my legs shake. Gerald turned around, sending a look to the woman holding me up. "Winters, take her to the ship."

She didn't reply, but she did nod and wrapped her arm around my back, keeping me up as we moved toward a door.

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><p><em><strong>As you can see, she's a tad hysterical. But who wouldn't be?<strong>_

_**Glad you managed to stick around for this long and I hope you enjoyed the chapter :'] **_

_**Don't forget to show your support and leave a review! Let me know what you think, if you didn't like it, if you thought something should've been different, etc :']**_

_**Thanks guys! I love you! *Spreads hugs and cookies around* :'D T'ill next time!**_


	2. Chapter 2- The Conundrum

**Chapter 2- The Conundrum**

**2182, Forscher**

**Day 1**

As soon as we stepped outside the room, I felt like an elephant stomped all over my lungs. My breathing hitched in my throat. I had stumbled, gasping at the astonishing, terrifying sight in front of me. A bucket of icy dread tipped over my head. My heart dropped into my stomach. There was a tight twisting deep in my gut, like a snake was coiling around my organs. Apprehension and trepidation washed over me and my knees buckled.

_Holy shit._

_No._

_No way._

_No. No. No. No. No. No. No._

_This can't be real. No. No way in hell._

_Holy Christ._

_No. Shit. Fuck. This isn't real. This can't be real._

_No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No._

There, before my eyes and surrounding me, was a gigantic, massive open blackness. Thousands of glistening orbs winked at me, a huge spherical green ball hung in the nearby distance, pockmarked by gigantic ice glaciers visible even from space at this distance, scarred by the odd dark spot that marked the mountains. A long, humongous rift laid at its northern edge, while at the south, a tiny bump that marked a mountain so large that it probably, no, definitely dwarves the Everest in Tibet.

Somewhere further on, a bright blue orb, sparkling amongst the darkness that surrounded it… _Shit_…

"Oh god." I found myself breathless. My head spun. My voice is full of fear. "No, no, no, no, no- oh god, oh god, oh god- what the hell?! What the hell is this?!"

"Space?" The woman offered, her voice coming from the inside of my helmet. "Come on, lets get back to the ship. It'll be easier to explain things there."

She had to grab my arm again in order to get me to move. My feet were rigid across the platform.

"Ugh, this will be much faster, bear with it for a second." She did something, I'm not sure what but without warning, my feet were no longer anchored to the floor. Similarly, I noticed that she too started to levitate slightly as the lack of gravity took over. "Hold on tight."

Without warning, she kicked off the ground, something on her back came to life and blasted, propelling us at incredible speeds across the service corridor. A scream ripped out of my throat and pain stung through my mouth before we slowed down as the end came close, something akin to brakes being activated from what I could see.

There was a metallic, iron taste in my mouth before I realized I bit my tongue. My face scrunched up into a grimace and I doubled over. My arms whipped up, clutching at my uneasy stomach. I dry heaved, head reeling like a tornado as I gasped and panted. Fucking- Christ!

"Shit!" The curse sharply exhaled breathlessly. Her grip on me tightened, as did the cord around my waist she had attached before we went out. My heart rammed against my chest until I thought it was going to burst out. I screamed again. My palms were clammy inside of the suit. I was trembling in fear and closed my eyes to block the petrifying view of space.

I wasn't a particularly religious person. But I found myself desperately praying that I would survive this. That I didn't have to do this. That she would stop. That I wasn't here.

_Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me._

_No! No! No! No! No! No!_

She didn't stop though, somehow managing to change directions before boosting off against, dragging me along through the maze of corridors. My eyes clamped shut, my arms and my legs wrapping around her like I was some sort of koala.

"Erm… you can let go of me now. We're here."

"N-no." I spat out, refusing to open my eyes again. Stretching my limbs forward, I didn't loosen my iron vice grip on the poor woman being used as if I were a child tugging my teddy bear or comfort blanket. Not letting go._ No way._

"I'm not using the thruster pack anymore, we've stopped." She spoke as if speaking to a scared toddler hiding in a closet, tone soft. Voice patient. I felt a light pressure, what feels like fingers squeezing my arm. "It's okay. You can open your eyes now. I promise."

A shudder rippled inside me but I obeyed. She was telling the truth. Space wasn't in sight. The stars were hidden by the ship walls engulfing us. I almost felt claustrophobic, but it was better than being outside where I could float away or be swallowed by the abyss into nothing.

Slowly, I peeled my sweating hands away from her and laid my feet on the ground. They clanged against the metallic surface. I didn't step away from her though.

It brought up the issue that I wasn't in the safety of earth. I wasn't with my family or friends. I had no idea where I was, even if they did persist that I was in the same system as Noveria, which was from the fictional video game that I played in the comfort of my home. If what they said was true, then I was a very, very, long, long, loong way from home.

My mind instantly came up with the theory that I was dreaming or in a coma. I came up with conclusions that I was crazy after all or on drugs. I didn't know a powerful enough drug to make me see this and I was pretty sure if I was crazy I wouldn't be acknowledging this.

But if it was a dream? Then it could be one of those rare vivid dreams some people got. One of those ones where people actually controlled the unconscious state and were acutely aware of what was going on around them.

Despite all of my ideas and theories, everything just seemed so impossible. I could see everything so vibrantly and strongly. I could hear the slight pants of my quickening, worried breath. The little details, like the goosebumps raising on my skin. The hair on the back of my neck spiking out. The slight huffs of air from my companion as she held onto my arm.

That was another thing. You couldn't necessarily feel anything in your dream. You spectated yourself feeling, but you yourself never physically felt it. You just think you do as the brain was a smart cookie. Which confused the hell out of me and whether I could actually feel the grip she had on my wrist or not.

It was too… real.

All of it.

But it was impossible.

_There's no way._

What I had believed to be a wall in front of me suddenly shifted, then silently opened slowly. No sound… right, no sound in space. She waved me forward leading me inside only to be greeted by another door before me.

"So…" There was a hiss, then the woman unclasped her helmet and removed it, shaking her head to loosen her hair.

Warm chocolate eyes peered up through the wavy auburn strands that smoothly flowed down to her shoulders. She lifted her olive toned hand to flip her hair out of her heart shaped face and raked her short nails through her red tresses. The corners of her lips tilt up into a friendly smile directed at me.

"Any idea how long you've been in there, hon?" She leaned back against a wall as a smooth electronical voice declared that 'decontamination' was in progress the moment the door shut behind us. An airlock? Above, something hissed, spraying a white mist all over us.

I jumped and stumbled back, knees and back knocking against the wall. She eyed me carefully when I tried to catch a breath, my hand pressed flatly against my chest as if I could keep my heart from plummeting through the ribcage. "Relax, it's just decontamination."

_Easier said than done, relaxing is a bit out of my reach right now._

"Must've been really long, since it looks like you've never seen some of these things in your whole life." The woman noted. "When were you born? Might give us a clue to help."

Without even thinking it through, I gave her the automatic answer. "1996."

At first, there wasn't much of a reaction other than the slight movement of her jaw as she fought to keep it from falling off. Then her eyes widened briefly before narrowing, jaw snapping shut as she eyed me. "1996? As in four years before the twenty first century?"

My heart galloped back out into space. The surface of my palms becoming slick with sweat again. Shit. Am I in trouble? "I… well… yes. Why?"

"No. No, just… surprised that's all."

"My friend does tease me that I look young for my age." I grumbled, glancing to the side. "I'm seventeen."

"That's…" She paused, an unreadable expression on her face as she looked grimly ahead. Was it surprise? Shock? "Good to know."

I shifted my weight onto my other foot nervously. There was an intense banging in my ribcage, like a drum. "Do… so what's the date now? How long have I been in there? If I've been in that… thing… for a long time, like you said." She was silent for a minute, mouth in a thin, solem line as she avoided my gaze. I stood up straighter, a sour taste in my mouth. I was worried. "How long?"

"2182." She curtly said, the airlock doors in front of me opening, revealing the interior of the ship. "Welcome to the distant future I suppose…"

…

…

…

_...what?_

"...What?" I repeated my thoughts, dumbfounded. I froze, limbs turning to stone. Something slammed on my skull, like the size of a piano, with the speed of a meteor. My jaw unhinged, my eyes almost fell out of my sockets. I stared, eyebrows shooting up into my hairline.

It was silent.

The silence was so thick that I'd have to slice through it with a chainsaw.

Laughter suddenly broke into the air. At first it was a small giggle, then a few chuckles, but then it was full blown laughter. It was a while before I realized it was me, hysterically chucking out the sounds of amusement. Tears stung in my eyes and I held my stomach as it squeezed tightly.

I slapped the wall with my hand as it turned to silent laughing. That laughter where you slapped something like a special seal and laughed so much until you couldn't get any actual noise out of you.

Lifting my hand, I swiped my eyes with a strained groan, choking. "I-I'm sorry, but I thought you just said 2182."

There was no hint of mirth in her expression. "I did."

…

…

…

_Fuck me._

"N-no. No." I strongly denied, slowly saying the word, not willing to believe that I've been in there for, if my maths is correct, one hundred and sixty fucking years. There was absolutely no way in hell. "No... No... No... No. No." Her expression of sympathy didn't change. I suddenly found it hard to breathe. "No, that- no. That's _impossible_."

"Improbable. One in a billion." She agreed and cautiously stepped forward. I shot back in recoil, falling into the wall. My body clanged with the metal slightly curved wall. She stopped and held back, lifting her hand, treating me like a scared animal and not getting too close. "You're technically a walking, living miracle."

Black spots fizzled in my vision. My breathing increased rapidly and I found myself hyperventilating, chest becoming restricted with the lack of air slipping into my lungs. My body became a furious earthquake, every inch of me was trembling. I felt my knees buckle and collide harshly with the hard floor. I struggled to keep a shaky hold on the wall, the surface of my palms slick with cold sweat. I felt the room spin as dread cracks over my head like an egg.

A fog clouded my head, nausea punching deep in my gut. The woman was blurry now, a faint ghost in the background that rushed toward me. She lifted my arm, but I couldn't feel it. The nerves on my skin were numb.

She stroked my arms, then I could distantly hear her tell me to breathe. I attempted to do so, but it took me a long while to achieve this. Something hard coiled around my lungs like a chain, firmly wrapping around them. I felt like they were about to burst like balloons.

It seemed like hours passed, with my head sitting between my knees and her warm voice comforting me. It was probably only ten minutes. I hated panic attacks, they made you feel hopeless and lost. They took over your body like a puppeteer.

"Do you feel better? Should we go to medical?" She cooed soothingly, her hands, now minus her gauntlet still gently rubbing my arms.

"C-can I h-have some w-water? P-please?" I stuttered. Water always calmed me down at least a little in stressful situations.

"Sure, lets go downstairs and have a seat, then I'll get you the water." She said, helping me to my feet and leading me into the ship. The first thing I saw was a sign pointing left that said cockpit. A small ship maybe? Needless to say, that wasn't where I was going, since she turned right and led me down a hallway that's devoid of activity. Small crew?

Another turn or two later, I was brought to a bright room, some beds at the side with holographic displays and controls beside them, a machine that looks like a MRI tube, a table and an office chair, oddly thin and elegant. Twenty second century office chair design?

She gestured for me to sit down on the bed before leaving me, coming back with a cup of water in her hands, sans hardsuit, wearing something that could pass off as casual wear… right? I'm not exactly familiar with futuristic fashion designs…

"Here." She handed me the cup. "Sorry, doc's, or the closest we have to one, is back on that derelict we found you in. So we are going to have to wait till she comes back."

"Thank you." I told her softly, taking the cup and sipping it. The cool liquid slid down my throat, soothing the soreness that didn't seem to be going away.

I was noticeably still a little shaken, but who could honestly blame me? I spent an impossible amount of time in a cocoon of ice for an impossible time period. Now here I was, bed trying to process that piece of information.

It was safe to say, that I was a little freaked out.

"Anyway, I never really introduced myself." She declared, pulling over the weird looking chair to beside me and sitting down. "Kylie Gracemeria Winters, helmsmen of this little ship."

"I'm…I'm..." I soon stopped short, scanning my brain only to hopelessly find I couldn't remember. Temporary amnesia. She had said, I didn't realize that would mean most of my identity as well. "I… I don't know."

"Well… shit. That complicated matters," she muttered, voice hitching as an odd hint of an accent in her voice as she worded the last part. "Can't be helped right now, nor can I do anything at the moment. Maybe you should get some rest, sweetie. Sleep it off."

Fear unexpectedly pierced through me. My chair slammed backwards to the ground as I shot up. I had been sleeping in an ice coffin for one hundred and sixty years. I didn't want to sleep again. Not again. "I-I can't. I don't want to. Please don't make me. Please- I -I can't-!"

"Don't worry, I won't make you." She offered a reassuring smile, getting up to the door. "I've got to take care of something, try not to touch anything, or break anything in the meantime kay?"

"Where are you going?" I didn't want to be left alone in a spaceship, which I had to stop myself from thinking of the bad things that could happen. Like it suddenly losing all power, me being lost in space. It put a bitter taste in my mouth. "Please… don't leave me alone."

"It's okay sweetie." Crossing the space between us, she moved a lock of my hair out of my face the way a mother would and lowered herself to my height before she gently assured me. "I promise I won't be a minute. Nothing bad is going to happen while I'm gone."

"I don't want to be left alone." I told her quietly and hiccuped, clutching my knees close to my chest insecurely.

She seemed conflicted for a moment, eyes flicking between the door and I. She put her hand on my shoulder, meeting my anxious gaze. "Listen to me. You're out of there now. You're here. You don't have to worry about it anymore. You're coming up with a million different scenarios of what could possibly go wrong right now, right?" I nodded. "None of those things will happen, you know why? This ship is one of the safest vessels out there, I made sure of that. Dynamic Core class Fusion Torch engines, Altas bulkheads and the strongest civilian class kinetic barrier and GUARDIANs one could get off the market." She paused. "Well, not really because we aren't that rich but close enough. Even if something did happen, we are kind of close to civilised space, so rescue can take around six to twelve hours to get to us in the event a distress beacon is launched and a single escape pod that has enough space for everyone worse come to worse."

"You're safe now." She repeated, strongly. I swallowed the lump building in my throat. "I won't be more than five minutes, tops. I promise."

"Okay." I gave her another nod, wrapping my arms around my shins as she smiled at me and started walking to the door. I sat up a little. "Kylie?" She paused, peering over at me. My lips strained a little, but I managed a grateful, small smile. "Thank you."

She nodded, mouth tilting up at the corners. "You're welcome."

With that she left.

I stared down at my pale reflection in the water of the cup.

And I sat there.

Alone.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry guys, I wanted to upload on Christmas, but I was hella busy. Y'know, family dinners and older figures telling me it was rude to type at the table and then telling me it was rude to type on the sofa when I should socialize. <strong>

**Pfft, socializing.**

**Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS. Love you guys :']**

**Thank you SO much for reviewing, it warms my heart so and keeps my fingers drumming against the keyboard to get more chapters done for you guys! Charlie019 is great, I don't know what I'd do without him. If you like Dragon Age stories, you should check out his story 'Walking With Dragon's' because it's awesome!**

Don't forget to show your love by reviewing what you thought, if you like, if you want more, etc. Hell, even tell me about your day! Your favourite hobby and where you guys are from! ^_^

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**Till next time lovelies! ~E**


	3. Chapter 3- The Revelation

**Chapter 3- The Revelation**

**2182, Abandoned facility**

* * *

><p>"Well... as you can already see, just like the other two this one also did not survive his cryo." The pale Asari explained, skimming over the multitudes of texts scrolling across her omni-tool. "While the others had seemingly died in their sleep, this one was… less fortunate. If I'm not wrong. His tube had apparently failed, causing a sudden flash thaw that shattered his frozen bronchus inside his lung, causing massive lung damage, followed by the rapid expansion thanks to the sudden increase in body temperature. Needless to say, it would've been… incredibly unpleasant."<p>

Despite the helmet, Gerald could tell that she grimaced. A messy way to die certainly…

Though he did have an interest in what manner of drugs were used to prevent damage to the cell membranes from the ice crystal formation that would happen when one goes under the ice. Flawed, no doubt considering that only one had lived but advanced enough to perfectly preserve the body and prevent massive cellular damage and scarring of its subjects.

Shame that he couldn't dissect any of these bodies, least of all the media paint him as a villainous man who 'crack open tombs and cut open bodies'.

"Gerald." The radio came alive, Winter's voice in his ear as his HUD indicated that its on a private channel.

Raising his hand to stop the Asari from continuing, the other on the side of his helmet by where his ear would be if not covered up by the helmet, the universal sign to indicate that one was on the call, he responded. "Yes? What is it?"

"When did our people reach the technological level where we could start with human trials in cryonics?"

"2065. Why?"

"This person we've found? She was born in 1996."

"What?" He nearly sneered at the preposterous idea of his kind being that advanced during that period. "Weren't we too preoccupied with trying to bomb each other to oblivion by strapping bombs to ourselves during that era?"

"That's what she said. She's born in 1996 and unless my eyes have failed me, she looks young, below twenty if I'm not wrong."

Interesting. Very interesting.

"Matton, got something new for you to do." He barked, eyeing the frozen corpse in the pod. "Get the monitors and datapads powered up and extract every bit of information you can from it. Winters."

"Hmm?"

"She in any state to answer a bunch of questions?"

"Nope."

"Borderline catatonic I take it?"

"Something like that."

"Look after her."

"Hmm, Gerald?"

"Send Ilna over will you? Get her to check if our friend here is vulnerable to any galactic diseases and stuff. Maybe an immunisation or two since I doubt whatever they used to have back in those days are anything good."

He nodded his head at the resident Asari. "Give our little guest a medical check-up will you? Wouldn't want her dying because someone coughed into her face after all no?" He switched back to the private channel as the Asari made her way to the door and walked out, past the glowing kinetic barrier that kept the atmosphere in the tiny little room. "She's on the way."

He looked back at the bodies.

Very interesting indeed.

* * *

><p><strong><span>2182, Forscher<span>**

**Day 1**

* * *

><p>It was hard to accept.<p>

Very difficult to process that fact I was sitting on a ship that could float away any minute now. The ship walls were the only thing shielding me from the view of the massive space. It was difficult to process and accept that I was one hundred and sixty years into the future.

It was disturbing and incredibly unsettling.

In the time Kylie wasn't in the room, I sat there, fidgeting in my seat and playing with the hem of my sleeve. The chilling bite to my skin was gone, but the goosebumps and slight shaking lingered. I had tried to remember any inkling of my identity. I knew I had a family and friends, their faces were a little blurry but I knew who they were. I could slowly recall events like my birthdays in brief flashes. My name was hard to press, blocked by a fog.

I remembered that Noveria was in a game.

_Mass Effect._

The name rang loudly in my head, reverberating like a cave. I stared down at my pale palms, tracing the blue veins that lead through my arms.

I remembered snippets of my life. Enough to know this world wasn't mine. It was less advanced. There was also an image. A particular image that stuck out. The man with the weird helmet before, there were helmets like that in the game. They were all in the game, but this particular one was too much of a coincidence. It was the one these aliens wore. I couldn't remember the name of them. The style of it, the surroundings around me, the futuristic way about everything- it was like I was in a different world.

At this point, I started to think really was losing my mind.

It was already getting to me.

Kylie came back, but returned with something in her arms. She approached me and wrapped the soft blanket around my shoulders. I reached up hesitantly and pulled it tighter around my body. It was nice and warm. A dark colour that I couldn't decide if it was navy or black, but I could care less about how it looked.

The friendly woman smiled at me, sitting down in her curved seat. "How are you feeling? Are you still thirsty? Do you want me to get you anything?"

Glancing down at the empty cup in my hands, I leaned forward and left it on the desk nearby. "U-uh, no… no thank you." I shifted, curling my toes as I took comfort in the blanket. "I… uh… I don't know how I'm feeling, if I'm honest. Sad? Worried? In shock? Probably a mix."

"That's normal, considering the circumstances." She nodded, crossing her leg over the other. Kylie folded her hands in her lap after tucking a lock of her auburn hair behind her ear. "I asked our medic to come down, to do a check-up, make sure everything is good and well and to see if your immune system is up to par. Is that alright?"

That last thing I needed was someone prodding me with needles.

If they wanted to dissect me or kill me or something, then I supposed they would've done it by now. Kylie probably wouldn't be so nice to me if they were.

I hoped.

Lifting my chin to meet her inquisitive gaze, I nervously nodded. "I-I guess."

The door opened, this time a pale, aqua colored person stepped through holding a datapad. Since she's wearing the universal white color that said medical personal.

I couldn't help but stare at her.

Asari. My head screamed. There was a harsh intake of breath. My insides clenched and unclenched, churning uneasily at the sight of an alien that was supposed to be fictional. My heart skipped a beat and my breath hitched in my throat as I tried to stop my eyes from falling out of my sockets. I closed my jaw, shutting it.

_It's a mother-fudging Asari._

_How in the hell is this even possible?_

I had tried to get over the initial shock, but I was honestly brain-fucked at this point.

She didn't waste anytime, nor did she speak, walking over to one of the consoles and tapped a few buttons on the holographic display. Beneath the bed I'm sitting next to, a robotic arm unfolded itself, covered in smooth white metal plates, leaving no exposed wires on its exterior unlike any of the robotic of… my era. At its tip, there was… a needle or something.

Uncomfortable, I hunched away from it, fingers clenching around the material of the cloth engulfing me. I swallowed a lump in my throat, staring at the robot-thing. _What in the… okay. I'm waaay out of my element here._

"This is Specialist Ilna R'Tlona, she's… the closest we have to a doctor on this small vessel." Kylie explained at my uncertain expression. "What she would be doing would be…"

She trailed off as the needle, without warning, was jabbed into my arm, drawing a pained and startled yelp from me. In that same split second, it retracted, its tip stained crimson, folding into the arm itself while something else unfolded, spraying a cool liquid at the tiny prick.

I glared at the machine, but then blinked as the sting instantly faded because of whatever it sprayed._ Woah... okay, yeah that's pretty cool._

A stream of data scrolled across the screen before the Asari before she frowned and tapped in another command, this time the arm neatly folded up and tucked back under the bed. Then, pulling something out from… a _drawer_? She walked over, holding a small pill in her hand, and dumped it into my open mouth while I was staring with my jaws slightly agape.

"So, doc what's the diagnosis?"

She replied something in an unknown language before being cut off by Kylie, which she rolled her eyes that before nodding and cleared her throat. My eyes were wide when she spoke up again, it was English. Heavily accented English, with the 'e's and 'o's sounding oddly elongated..

"Patient has a rather weak immune system, with a complete lack of immunity to even the most basic galactic diseases, including over eighty two strains of flu, thirty five bacterial infections, excluding the seventy nine that causes eye infection and twenty seven plagues of which twelve had been declared to be eradicated by the Citadel Ministry of Health…"

"Just get to the point." Kylie groaned, getting tired of the long winded explanation that the Asari is currently doling out.

"She is a walking medical disaster waiting to happen. Even newborn human infants have displayed a stronger immunity than what she currently has." The Asari summarized, lowering her datapad.

_Damn._

For some reason, an embarrassed blush found its way to my cheeks because of how weak and vulnerable I was. _Of course._

"That bad?"

The Asari nodded. "She steps foot on the Citadel, she would be hospitalized in two days. She steps foot on her home planet, five and then lung cancer within the month given how heavily polluted you people have kept it. On Omega, she would be lucky if she survived more than a day, provided no one attempts to shorten it prematurely. Right now on this ship? Three weeks to a month before she would be hospitalized."

_Double damn._

"So… a human Quarian?"

_So I'll be stuck in a suit for the rest of my life? Or for as long as I'm here?_

_Spending my life here isn't something I want to do._

_Sod it all. Please let this be a dream._

"Not really… Quarians have an even weaker immune system than that… well yes. Something like a human Quarian. WIth a slightly better immune system and different amino acid, three additional toes on each foot and two additional fingers on each hand." She shrugged. "WIth the right immune boosters, immunisation shots and a dozen gene therapy… she could live and function in the society just like any other human, minus the cultural shock. But she hasn't called me an alien yet, so that's a start."

_Oh. Right. The whole asari thing._

I was still staring at her. Feeling rude, I averted my curious eyes and felt my face heat up. "S-sorry for staring... I've just… never seen someone like you before."

Not entirely a lie, not entirely far from the truth.

I was surprised that I wasn't freaking out even more, slamming my head into a wall and screaming at myself to wake up. But maybe it just hadn't kicked in yet, despite my acknowledging of the asari in the same room as me.

"Apology accepted. A little advice, don't stare at a Turian for prolonged period of time. They will take it as an insult. Even more so for a Krogan, since its is likely to lead to violence that will not end well for you." She quickly said, the screen she was looking at dissipating as she turned away. "As to what a krogan and turian is, Kylie can explain it for you. As for what I am, I'm an Asari, now if you excuse me…"

With the datapad held against her chest, she walked out.

_Oh god. My morbid imagination can see it._

I didn't want to meet a krogan.

I'd rather die from one of the diseases she was talking about, at least then it would be more merciful.

Turning to Kylie, and deciding to play my '_unknowledgeable and naive_' part while I was there for whatever god damn reason, I questioned, "so… what is a turian? And a... krogan?" I sat up, feeling my forehead crease as another question suddenly gnawed my brain. "What am I going to do about these immunity shots? Where can I get them? Do I have to buy them?"

I practically felt my skin blanch at the thought. I didn't have any money. I didn't have friends or family in this place. My eyes stung with unexpected tears, something thick built into my throat. _What the hell am I going to do? Where am I going to go? If I leave, I die. If I stay, I die._

"Oh, good question. Hold on." She got up to the door and leaned outside. "Ilna, what about the shots?"

It took a couple seconds before the Asari was back in the doorway, without the datapad though her omni-tool was active. "We don't have the equipment, nor the medication nor…" Blinking, she snapped a few words to Kylie in her native language.

"Qualifications." I heard the woman say, to which the Asari nodded and rolled the word around her tongue for a few seconds. My shoulders slouched down, cold fingers wrapping around my ankle. My leg bounced anxiously. Now what am I going to do?

"Let's not worry about it for now," Kylie said optimistically, wheeling around to face me. "We'll wait until Gerald is back before thinking of our options. Try not to think about it, sweetie."

_Sure. Try not to think about how I could slowly be dying right now because of lame bacteria._

_Piece of cake._

"As long as we throw her into the decontamination chamber every now and then." Ilna added. "And try not to accidentally vent her out in the vacuum in the process." With that, she left. Again.

"Pardon her, she's normally like that, so hope you don't take too much offense and think its their species trait to be like that or something." Kylie apologized for her colleague's behalf after a while, looking sheepish. "You should see her once she gets rather passionate about certain subjects."

"It's okay," I quietly shrugged it off, shrinking back into the chair when something suddenly burned through my brain. I hissed, grabbing my head. There was a blurry face burning in my mind. A round face, tanned skin and big brown doe eyes looking up at me. I shook my head, grimacing.

_Who the hell is that?_

"Are you alright?" I faintly heard Kylie ask and I merely nodded, ignoring the constant nagging throbbing in my head.

The same face rippled through my eyes and I raked a hand through my hair. There was a sense of familiarity swimming around her. The name on the tip of my tongue. I knew her, yet I didn't.

"Just a bit of a headache." I lied, she looked sceptical and arched a perfect brow. But she accepted it for now.

The face. I couldn't help but feel like I knew the girl, yet I couldn't put a label on her. I couldn't remember who she was and it was bugging the hell out of me. I searched my static filled brain, slinking through the identities of family that I could distantly recall, she didn't fit anyone of them. Not a cousin, not a sister, not a friend. Just a stranger.

It was frustrating; how I remembered some of my life, but there were blocks and gaps concealing the rest of it.

"You will remember." When I looked back up I saw Kylie searching my features, a knowing glint in her eye. Did I really look that lost? Was my heart really that prominent on my sleeve? "It's just temporary, comes with the cryogenics."

Slightly uncomfortable with her staring, I shifted in my seat and gave her a simple bob of the head and looked away. My eyes averted to the floor. There was an uneasy fluttering of bats punching my gut at her statement. I didn't want false hope, but I couldn't help it. The lack of memories as to what happened to me was driving me insane. I was still surprised to say the least; that I still wasn't freaking out.

I should've been screaming, running in circles like a headless chicken, crying until my eyes were drained as dry as a desert. But for some insane reason, I wasn't. I was just sitting there, trying to wrap my head around all of this information.

For what God damned reason I didn't know, I had been thrown into a cocoon of ice for one hundred and sixty years, carelessly lunged into another freaking universe which was proved by the presence of the asari and the futuristic atmosphere around me (including being in mother-fucking space). It was just getting too difficult to deny where I was the more evidence I was shown. I was the type of person that went with the phrase 'if I see it, I can believe it' so as long as I had solid evidence, then it was fairly hard to deny.

And the evidence was pretty damn solid.

All of this, mixed with how my memories of how I was stuffed into the ice coffin wiped completely along with certain blocks in my life- why I wasn't sobbing on the floor having a mental break-down was a mystery.

I could've been in shock. I could've been dreaming. I really didn't know.

All that mattered, was that I was here- and I had to figure out why.

I had to get home, wherever that was.

I straightened my legs to the floor, stretching the stiff limbs with a wince. "I hope you're right,"

A hiss drew both of our attention to the door as it opened once more, but instead of Ilna, it was someone else. A fair skinned man around his mid or late thirties. His pale green eyes skimmed over the room until they landed upon me. A crease formed on his already slightly wrinkled forehead and his white lab coat flailed gently behind him when he walked in.

Based on stereotypes he seemed to fit the role of some sort of doctor. Really, the only thing missing was a large pair of glasses.

"Ah, still alive I see." He spared me a glance before walking over to one of the terminals. "Good to know that we didn't spend all this effort just to get another corpse out of the hunk of metal."

"Gérard," Kylie snapped and sighed, putting a hand to her temple like she suddenly had a migraine. The redhead gave a short shake of her head and turned to me. "Forgive him, he doesn't have great social skills."

_So far, it seems Kylie is the only one who does._

I kept the comment to myself, carefully watching the man punching something into the panel of a terminal.

"So Ilna already popped her with the radiation meds? Hmm, thought she forgot since I didn't mention it…"

"Oh have more faith in your people would you?"

"What? And rob everyone of the crew's only odd, overly cautious and control freak?" He briefly craned his head and peered over at her, a ghost of a smirk on his face before he snorted. "No."

Kylie rolled her eyes, propping up her foot by using her other leg as a stand. She gripped her knee, leaning forward to narrow her eyes at Gérard. I sat back to avoid being in the crosshairs.

"We find a miracle kid, alive in some God forsaken tomb, and all you care about is being a sarcastic dick." Her lips formed a line and she shook her head. Kylie's red curls bounced with the movement. "What are you doing here anywhere? I thought you were checking out the site some more."

"Left my scalpel behind. Can't dissect anything without it now can I?" He shrugged, sounding just as bored as he did when I first saw him. Dissect? I turned pale. "And to check if Ilna popped her full of radiation meds, grab a cutter and some other things." A pause as he stopped, thinking about something on his mind. "And to make a booty call."

Kylie grimaced at the thought, then noticed the disturbed expression I was sporting. "Stop trying to traumatise the poor girl, she's been through enough."

"She looks just fine to me. Mental brain trauma is a great way to recover from mind boggling traumatic events." Kylie merely threw him an icy glare. I crossed my legs and tried to shrink into my chair, wishing for the ground to suddenly swallow me whole.

Ignoring the both of them, I shakily reached forward, clenching my hold around the cup to sip a bit of water.

_Now what?_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Currently writing this at 4:31am just for you guys xD<strong>_

_**Hope you enjoyed, I know this introduction is a bit slow, but bare with me. **_

_**Thank you all who reviewed and those who showed their support by favouring and following! :'] (Free cookies and hugs)**_

_**Any questions? Review! I'll answer! Don't be shy! :'] (Heartsign)**_

_**~E**_


	4. Chapter 4- The Strangers

_**A/N:**_

_**Thank you all so much for reviewing, it means a lot to me :']**_

_**I didn't think I'd have so many followers as well XD**_

_**Someone pointed out that she didn't really react realistically, so I apologize, I don't usually have the 'laid-back' kind of reaction in any Self-inserts I do. But, this is just kind of in her character. She's putting the panic aside so she can try to think logically (not to mention she had a panic attack earlier so I'm not sure what they're talking about unrealistic reactions) but how do you deny being in space when you can clearly see the universe around you? How can you deny it when you're being jetted through SPACE in a suit that is the one of the only things keeping you alive? More importantly, how in the world do you deny that there is an asari in front of you?**_

_**I suppose certain people would deny, deny, deny and that's completely understandable. I was just trying to take this character's reaction from a different angle than I usually do. Point is, she's trying to set aside her panic and think as logically as she can, despite the fact her brain is a bit scattered right now (cryogenic sleep and such).**_

_**Also, I'm taking into account that my descriptions are TOO descriptive, I'm going to try to ease up on that! :'] Thank you for letting me know! :')**_

_**Anyway, sorry about that. If there is still a problem, then I'll try to fix it. Just lemme know! Criticism is useful! :'] Enjoy!**_

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><p><em><strong><span>Chapter 4- The Strangers<span>**_

_**2182, Forscher**_

_**Day 1**_

* * *

><p>The searing, analysing gazes of the strangers bore holes through my skull.<p>

Kylie had escorted me to a circular room with five or six people sitting down on the peculiar curved, metal chairs surrounding a rectangular table. I stood there like a clown at a funeral, feeling incredibly out of place. I awkwardly fiddling with the sleeve on my arm. I averted my eyes to the ground briefly before inhaling a deep breath and forcing myself to look up at them.

The Asari was nibbling on something that looked like a cookie, Gérard sipping on some drink, Salarian was staring at me like I insulted his family and Kylie got up to pour herself a cup of water.

Deciding to be the first to talk, I cleared my throat and attempted to stand tall while holding my arms behind my back. My fingers tightened their grip on my skin and my knuckles drained white. "Uhm- hi… there."

"The Sleeping Beauty speaks! Good to know the long periods of time spend in cryo didn't impair her mentally in any way." Gerald, once again being an arse as I had learned throughout the short period of time I spent around him, spoke up before going back to his drink.

Kinda hoping he chokes on it.

"Ignore him, he doesn't have an off switch." Kylie provided, swatting her hand. She took a sip of her drink and sat down by the asari, crossing her legs. I was trying not to gawk at the aliens in the room.

_Salarian and asari. Bloody hell._

It's freaky. How real he looks compared to the game. Details enhanced, little features like any scales or dots along his face more noticeable. It's more authentic (obviously) and doesn't look computerized or like a suit at all. I was curious about how the texture of his skin felt, but knew it would be rude and very weird to ask.

His eyes were a little eerie. Big, wide and frog-like.

Salarians always reminded me of frogs or lizards.

"She's staring." The Asari said, eyeing me with a weird look on her face. "Staring is rude even among humans, no?"

My face heated up and I instantly looked away, sheepish. "Sorry."

"Human customs may be way different nearly two hundred years ago compared to modern days." Gérard shrugged, ignoring the look of surprise at my face as he defended me. "Hmm, you people don't live in caves do you?" _Or not_.

"Houses." I said with a flat tone, my annoyance leaking through to my voice. Goosebumps spiked on my skin. It was chilly in here.

"Anyway, just in case you hadn't realised it yet, you are in the dining quarters, mess hall, canteen, kitchen or whatever the hell you cave people call it a hundred years ago." He gestured around. A vein throbbed in my temple. "Gone are the days where you need to strike two rocks together to start a fire and cook things, ain't the future wonderful?"

"Gérard…" Kylie reprimanded with the tone of an irritated mother dealing with a misbehaving child, narrowing her eyes at the man. Her lips thinned. "She's from the 21st century, not the stone age."

I liked Kylie.

"Also known as the time where we struggled not to nuke each other back to the stone age- oh wait." He tapped his nose condescendingly. "That was the 20th century."

"Ease. Up." She pointedly gave him a look. They stared at each other for a moment, as if silently having a conversation using their minds. Everyone else is quiet. I almost felt intrusive just being in the same room as them. He eventually draws his eyes from her piercing gaze and rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He grunted, placing his cup down on the table. "Anyway, as to why are we having this happy little family reunion here, its regarding you." He said that last word with a pointed glare at me. "Or more specifically, what to do with you."

I blinked at him. Mouth parting to speak before clamping shut. A ton of questions were already whirling around inside my brain. My heart rate was staggering and beating on my chest like an enraged gorilla defending its territory. I honestly didn't know what to say. What could one say in this sort of situation?

How I ended up sleeping for so long was a mystery to me. Everything right now was a mystery to me. I didn't know who these people were, why they woke me up, how I even got in there in the first place, why I have no memory of my name and most of my identity. I could only scan through my head and see glimpses of my life, scattered about with no actual timeline. Nothing made sense.

Due to this, I didn't know where my family was- or even if they were alive.

Thinking about it, if I was sleeping for such a long period, then would they even be around? Were they thrown in the same situation as I was? Maybe they were somewhere else?

Was I truly alone?

The more I searched, the more a headache smacked against my skull. Though, I could remember certain, few figures. There was one that definitely stood out. A feminine one, that was short and slightly pudgy. Her face was blurred, but my heart clenched slightly in response. I must have been close to her.

A name was missing and a blank was on her face. Blue eyes? Green eyes? A small nose? A button nose? I didn't know.

I realized I zoned out while trying to paint a picture of this mysterious woman when I looked up and saw them looking at me, Gérard with an expectant glance like he just asked me a question. Sheepish, I cleared my throat.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I drummed my fingers against my leg, attempting to seem innocent as possible.

"As I was saying," he shot me an annoyed look at the need to repeat himself. "We have two options as to what do we do with you." He raised his hand and a finger went up. "One, we throw you out of the airlock and deny everything-"

Kylie lifted a reassuring hand to rid any worry lines forming while sending Gerald a scowl. "Which won't happen with me around, and that is not what you said earlier."

"Two, we dissect you. For science." He quickly added the last part, causing a snort from someone else at the table. "For the greater good, I assure you. Just need your kidneys and half your liver. Maybe a chip of your brain and some bone marrow."

Kylie stood up at this point, shaking her head. She pressed her palm flat on his temple, briefly pushing his head down. She gave him a thin, sarcastic smile in response to his slitting eyes. "Gérard, stop scaring her."

"We dump you with the Alliance and go on our merry way. Happy?" He glowered at the woman, crossing his arms. The redhead didn't look completely satisfied, but seemed to agree it was better than his other plans.

"We inform the Alliance, and make sure she's taken care off when we go with her." She corrected, cocking her hip as she folded her arms. "And no, not '_taken care off_'-" she used air quotations here. "-as in your movie definition '_sleeping with the fishes_' taken care off. I mean actually healthy, physically and mentally."

"Hey, nothing wrong with finding the nearest dumpster and-"

"Oh dear, here they go again." The other human… what's his name again?

"They do this a lot?" My quiet voice asked from the sidelines.

"Like a married couple." He answered, leaning back against his seat with a sigh, causing the barest hints of a smile to form on the Asari while the Salarian made a comment about being glad that his people has very little sex drives. "Unresolved sexual tension I say."

"Unless you want my boot up your ass Anders, I'd shut up." Kylie warned.

"Am I wrong?"

Her eye twitched and she hesitated before answering, which caused Gérard to glance at her, lip quirking into a slight smirk. "Yes, of course you are. You're always wrong."

"Why, that's just juvenile." Gérard shot her an amused look. "Reaaal mature, that counter argument of yours. '_You're always wrong_.' Really?"

"I'm just stating the facts." She barked back. "Most of the time his estimates aren't always on par." Kylie snaked her hand through her hair, removing it from her vision. "Anyway- back to the point at hand. You have the attention span of a Spacecow and the memory of a goldfish."

"And the petty insults. Like I said, real mature there." He crooked his head sideways as he regarded her. "You going to start tossing plastic toys about next? Should I go wear a helmet next?"

A flush of red crawled up her neck and tinged her cheeks to the rich colour of her hair. Kylie's lip curled and she threw her arms in the air. "You're unbelievable. _You're_ lecturing _me_ on being _immature_?"

"Way to go Anders," the asari threw in there. I stupidly stood there, unsure what to do among this soap opera in front of me. "You set them off again."

"It's not my fault they have a thing for each other."

"Anders." Kylie snapped, he threw up his arms in surrender but that didn't erase the smile playing on his lips. "Seriously. Not now. This isn't about _us_, it's about _her_."

When the stares and spotlight retracted back towards me, I almost took a step back.

"All for tossing her in the nearest dumpster in Alliance space?" Gérard asked, raising his hand, only for it to be slapped away by Kylie. "Show of hands please."

"We need to get her to the Alliance peacefully and make sure she gets the correct treatment." Her jaw clenched. Icy gaze sweeping the room for votes, almost as if just daring them to disagree. Most of them agreed with her. She nodded. "Right, that settles it. We get her to the Alliance." She turned, poking Gérard on the shoulder, a stern, "and _no dissecting_ on the way."

"Shit." He muttered with false dejection. There was just this odd thing about seeing a nearly forty year old man looking comically sarcastically dejected.

One thing is for sure.

Wherever I came from, maybe I should've brought popcorn.

"If I'm going to take us to the Alliance, someone should show her around." Kylie pinned her eyes on Gerald. She hesitated before nodding to him. "Everyone else will be busy, you'll no doubt be kicking up your feet, so you do it." She added a stern 'and no buts,' before leaving.

I blinked and an uneasy churn stirred in my gut. I shifted on my feet nervously and looked up at him. Oddly, he didn't look as reluctant as I am. "Come on."

His fingers wrapped around my arm and he eagerly started dragging me away. "First things first, to my lab!" He declared dramatically. "Like I said earlier, I just need your kidneys, half your liver, a chip of your brain, some bone marrow… Oh don't worry, you can keep your eyes. Well, the left one at least."

I swallowed and stumbled over my own feet, hoping he just had a sick sense of humour.

There was a short crackling coming from Gérard's ear that was audible enough that I heard it. Kylie's voice came through the earpiece, it was almost as if she heard him. She either had falcon hearing or she was telepathic… or psychic. "Remember, Gérard, no _dissecting_."

"Damn…" He said almost sadly. Was he being sarcastic or…? "Oh well, then I'll just have to make sure she doesn't find out later by throwing you out of the airlock."

"Please don't." I tried to wriggle out of his grasp a little, but he had a tight hold. It was starting to get uncomfortable to the point where I felt bruising. I didn't know if he was doing it on purpose or if he genuinely didn't know his own strength. "Can you let go? You're hurting me."

He didn't answer, but thankfully lightened his hold as he led me about, showing me where the crew sleeps, the cargo bay, the engineering which I'm forbidden from entering, the cockpit and its various holographic controls, his office, or lab… and that's about it. Small ship perhaps?

"And this here is the washroom. I hope I don't have to show you how to use it but anyway, this is where you'll be sleeping in."

"In the _washroom_…?" My voice trailed off at the mirthful twitch in his lips. I didn't believe him and doubted Kylie would make me sleep here. I didn't really want to sleep anyway, if I was honest. "Seriously?"

It wasn't really a genuine question, it was a rhetorical question to his sense of humour. The dubious, irked tone was as clear as an unrippled lake. His expression was innocent.

"Yes. And by the way, the plumbing is broken. So it'll smell too."

I stared at him, becoming slightly uncertain if this was an actual joke. "Do you hate me or something?"

"Venomously." He replied without hesitation, seeming pretty serious for once. Not a crack of a smile this time. His green eyes gazed down at me, narrowing.

The response pushed my eyebrows into my hairline for a moment before creasing together. My mouth slid into a firm line. Mostly I was confused, defensive and a little disappointed I managed to make someone dislike me so soon. "What? Why? What did I do?"

"I can't dissect you."

After letting his words sink in, a scoff sharply huffed out of me. I crossed my arms and shook my head. "You're not missing out on much, my organs are just the same as yours."

"Less brain cells probably. Something worth studying close up."

My stomach flipped from how easily he was talking about playing around with my greymatter in front of me. The image put a bile taste in my mouth. I decided to change the subject, fingers drumming against my arm. "So what is this… Alliance like?"

It was probably better to play dumb in regard to any information linked to this place, otherwise they'd suspect me. None of this stuff was around in my time and now it was mostly all advanced (God I sound like such an old person) and if I accidentally brought up Omni-tools without someone telling me about them or giving me the internet (or their equivalent) to find out the information myself.

I just hoped the Alliance didn't treat me like a toddler without a brain, like Gerald keeps treating me. Hell, I hoped they didn't think I was some sort of threat to whatever good image of humanity they portray.

I wanted to have memories back, of my home, of my life.

Like I mentioned before, I could remember snippets if I searched hard enough. I remembered the taste of foods. I remembered words. I remembered playing certain video games. I knew about books. I knew about manners. How to talk. I didn't remember going to school. I didn't remember faces or names or birthdays, much less about mine.

It was a difficult thing to explain, of having chopped memories. Blank spaces here and there, blurry spots I could barely make out, but others as clear as a blue sky in summer. There was a static in my head, where I was controlling a radio dial and trying to get a better signal. Some bits came through, most of it was white noise.

"Depending on who you ask, the Alliance is either humanity's galactic representative body, an organization that serves the corporate and rich or the modern equivalent of twentieth century's North Korea." He replied, maintaining an annoying frustrating neutral look as he said the last one.

I was kind of reluctant to ask, maybe because I didn't want to hear any negatives, but I did anyway. "And how do you think they'd react to me?"

It took a while for him to respond, to which he shrugged. "No freaking idea."

"To be fair, I don't even know how to react." I muttered, sliding a hand over my face. I closed my eyes, which were starting to throb from the ceiling light. My voice became muffled through my palm. "Everything is still sinking in."

"Poor you." He merely said. His lack of empathy was annoying to be around, to say the least.

It was only when I brought my hand away from my face and saw the wet trail of water when I realized tears were flowing down my cheeks. My jaw clenched and I quickly turned from the man, frequently wiping my eyes with my sleeve. Eventually in the thick silence, I sniffled, then gnawed down on my lip in an attempt to stop any sobs from escaping.

A lump built in my throat and my chest tightened.

_Don't cry. Stop._

The squeezing sensation increased.

_Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. _

There was a stinging behind my blurry vision.

_Stop it. Don't be so pathetic._

The inner voice kept scolding me, but no matter how hard I try a quiet sob forced it's way out. I clamped down on my mouth, slapping a hand over it and hugging my torso. I looked down at my feet, curling my toes and shutting my eyes.

_Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Come on. Stop._

"Look… kid," I heard him sigh, then nothing as he struggled to put the words in his mouth. "I can't imagine what you're going through. Thrown nearly two hundred years into the future with hardly any memory…" he swore under his breath. "God fucking damn it, I'm going to kill Kylie later."

My breath was shaky when I finally spoke, voice breaking in between. "...S-sorry. I-I just… it's a lot to take in." I turned around to face him, ashamed of the tears running down my face despite how many times I tried to get rid of them. Leaning on the wall, I curled my sleeve over my knuckles as a comfort thing and sniffed. "I-I don't know wh-what I'm going to do. I have no family, no money, no friends- I'm completely unfamili-unfamiliar with this place- no idea where w-where to even start-"

"Well I'm sure you'll… or-" Hissing, he increased his pace as he raised his hand to his ear, lowly muttering into it for whoever that's listening on the other side. "Here." He pointed at a bunch of metallic pods nearly similar to the one I just woke up from. "I guess you'll be sleeping here? Now give me a second while I need to have a word with someone."

I kinda assumed he wasn't that great when it came to comforting people by the frustrated way he tried to speak but couldn't form a proper sentence. Nonetheless, he didn't seem the type to become serious for someone so I appreciated him at least putting in an effort.

But before I could try to thank him for at least trying, he was gone through the doors.

Slightly irritated with myself for making him uncomfortable, I sharply exhaled and sniffled, facing the sleeping pod. I eyed it with uncertainty and decided to slowly walk over to a thick glass pane.

It was difficult, to step towards it and see the truth, but I managed to push myself.

When I got to the window, I was overwhelmed by the sight.

It filled me with overflowing thick layers of emotions and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep (especially in that kind of pod) so I just stood there and stared at the beautiful, yet incredibly lonely and eerie sight of space.

I'm going to need therapy.


	5. Chapter 5- What's In a Name?

_**Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate them. They keep me pumping out words ;'D**_

_**I noticed I have 64 followers and 1,656 views on this story! So happy yet a little sad at the same time since I've only got 20 reviews with that many people? XD I'm chill! It's cool!**_

_***Cries in a corner***_

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_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

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><p><span>Chapter 5- What's In A Name?<span>

2182, Forscher

Day 1

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><p>He stared, seething as he eyed the woman seated at the controls.<p>

"_Very_ funny, keep laughing and I might actually throw her out of the airlock for real this time around." He grumbled, tapping his foot agitatedly against the floor.

The red haired woman laughed, knowing he wouldn't. "She's just a kid, Gerald. Considering her circumstances, I would be the same in her shoes- hell, I'd probably be freaking out a lot worse. Cut her some slack."

"I'll cut into something in a second." The threat went over Kylie's head and she merely rolled her eyes.

"At least you _tried_ to comfort her," There was a glint in her eye, a ghost of a smile playing along her mouth. "That was sweet."

"What? Lies and slander." He quickly declared. "I was trying to get her to stop whining about it."

"Gerald." She reprimanded. She gave him that look. The one that made his skin slightly itch. He squared his shoulders and quirked an eyebrow down at the woman. "Having some semblance of a heart, albeit a small one I rarely see, is nothing to be ashamed of."

The corner of his lips twitched, pulling down into a frown. "Oh I do have one alright. And it's a normal heart that pumps blood, not one of those freak brain-heart hybrids."

Kylie chose that moment to put the ship on autopilot and grabbed onto the back of her seat, using it to help her stand up. She faced him in her infamous stance he knew all too well. Her hip jutted out at the side with her hand stuck to it as company. Her chin pulled up to meet his defensive gaze and her mouth was pulling down at the corners.

She gave a deep sigh and peered down at the floor with pursed lips before looking back up at him. "Imagine yourself in her shoes, how would you feel? Honestly."

"How the bloody hell will I know?" He retorted, leaning back against one of the consoles. "Even if by some odd unfortunate incredibly unlucky stroke of luck that history repeats itself and I'm the poor hopeless victim this time… You know what, I'll deal with it if it comes down to it."

"Knowing you, you'd be incredibly pissed off, confused and even scared. Though you wouldn't admit the last one..." She stretched out her hand, resting it on his arm. Her eyes softened. "This kid is probably going through hell right now. She will need someone."

"Well that's your job. Leave me out of it."

"I'm a little busy here." She gestured to the pilot's chair. "I can only put it on autopilot for a bit before I have to return." Her eyes softened. "Please? Just try to talk to her? Even if you just have to sit and listen- sometimes that's the best way to help someone. Just let her know that we won't let anything bad happen to her."

"Wha- Are you... You are mad." He sputtered, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Her hand was forced away in his action. "Of all people why me? Why not Ilna? Or the Salarian? Or Anders?"

"You think they would do a better job?" She snorted and shook her head. "For one, they would probably drive her into an early grave, Anders especially. And secondly, they all have tasks you _and _I assigned them. What they're doing is also imperative to the research we found in the facility." Her gaze almost became pleading, she took a step slightly closer, crossing her arms across her chest. "Just give it a shot."

"Part of the problem is that she's in cultural shock. What better way to solve it then to get Ilna to do it?" He argued back. "Besides, whatever she's doing I could easily take over. Unless somehow without me knowing our only 'medical professional'," he raised his hands to air quote. "Somehow mysteriously became a vital part to flying a damn spacecraft?"

"Ilna is looking into a... personal matter of mine." Her eyes drifted for a moment, not meeting his gaze. Her fingers clenched the skin on her arms, mouth thinning. "I'd prefer if you were not involved with it."

"What, slumber parties?" He snorted. "Oh please, that can wait."

"It's a concern that doesn't involve you." Her stare turned piercing. Her jaw clenched and she held her ground. "And no, it can't wait. Not for me."

"Oh for fuck's sake." He turned around, looking to smash his head into the side of the console before spinning around, jabbing his finger at her. "I swear to god you are doing this just to fuck with me."

Kylie slapped his finger out of her face, a red hue of aggravation tinged her cheeks and her lip curled. "I'm doing this for _her_. You always assume everything is about you, and trust me when I'm saying this- it's _not_."

"Me? Narcissistic? Oh please, don't be ridiculous." He took a step away. "Just pure and unrefined apathy at its finest moments."

"I've never known someone where their ego is so big it has it's own mass." Her voice took a flat turn and she gave a brief scoff. Kylie looked up at him again, tapping her finger on her arm. She eyed him for a moment before shaking her head.

"Indeed. I call it Bob." He answered with the same tone she did.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. She muttered to herself as she turned to her seat, "God knows why I put up with you."

"And here I thought it was because you find me handsome." He shrugged, her eye twitched and she sent him a glare. "That and I pay you to keep this vessel from being flown into a star."

Kylie turned autopilot off, taking over again. "Right."

With a sigh, Gerald turned to leave, gears spinning within his head as he thought of ways to wiggle out of this situation.

"Oh, and Gerald?" Kylie started. There was a slight pause off hesitation. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"Technically, you _made _me do it." He pointed out. "I didn't volunteer."

She didn't comment on it and half-heartedly smiled. "If you need anything else, you know where to find me."

* * *

><p>There were so many stars.<p>

It was stunning. Yet, the more I stared out the window at everything the more isolated I began to feel. But I sat down on the floor, peering out. It was an uneasy sight, yet I couldn't stop looking. It wasn't something I had the opportunity to do on earth.

On the huge rock I called home, it wasn't as easy to think of yourself in space. All you saw everyday were the clouds, buildings, a small white circle or a tiny ball of fire you couldn't look at or you'd damage your eyes, faint images of stars due to the light pollution. I've never had a look this close up before. It was unnerving, terrifying as well as amazing. _This was exhilarating. _

There was a memory prodding my brain. I welcomed it, anything from my life before I needed as a comfort.

I was sitting at a window seat. Purple curtains drawn back, window with white frames propped open. There was a faint white glow of the moon pouring into my room, illuminating the floor of my carpet. Since it was dark, the colour of the floor was a light blue. But I didn't look at the carpet, I was looking out at the street.

A car drove by every so often, headlights beaming passed. The streets weren't occupied with busy bee civilians like in the day. Street lamps were lighting up the pavement with a yellow gleam. Across the street, the park was empty and almost grey looking and it kind of reminded me of some spooky ghost town.

The moon was pretty though, and the stars. I remembered I liked always looking up at the sky at night, even if I never got a proper look.

"You seem busy." A voice commented, startling me and causing me to spin around to face the speaker. "I heard that first time travellers to outer space tends to spend a large part of their time sitting by the windows, watching and watching, forgetting the need to eat, shit and piss."

Gerald looked out the window as well, clasping his hands behind his straightening back. I pressed my lips together, easing away from him a little bit as I leaned against the frame of the glass.

"I was just… in thought." my eyes drifted to the big, gigantic space again. "...It's so… gorgeous...and serene." I swallowed. "But it's also terrifying and overwhelming… I'm wondering if I'm ever going to get used to it."

"Terrifying? Yes." He responded. "If say that window was to shatter, the ensuring decompression will kill you without a doubt. Even if you are suited up for vaccum, you are still screwed, because you'll be tossed out of the vessel and doomed to float for eternity until the exposure, lack of oxygen or thirst kills you. That is, if you don't break your bones on your way out."

_Well shit._

Despite the morbid train of thought he seemed to have, a ghost of a smile turned up at each corner of my mouth. "You're not an optimistic one are you?"

"Always better to be prepared for the worse possible scenario rather than say, get my hopes foolishly up and disappointed later on."

Curious at his cynical view, I looked up at him, eyebrows lifting a little. "Are you talking from personal experience?"

"Oh please." He scoffed, a small smile twitching at his lips. "Its space. You should always prepare for the worst. Granted the current technology we have greatly minimised the danger of space travel but nonetheless, its still dangerous, just like sea travel back on Earth during the nineteenth, twentieth century period."

It was an amusing yet slightly disturbing image. Gerald with a sailors hat in a Titanic situation with a mischievous guy called Jack. Arms spread out, saying he was flying… _maybe I shouldn't think about that. _"Don't suppose you've actually sailed before?"

"Do I look like some backwater hick to you? Hell no." He grimaced, shuddering slightly as he mentally pictured himself trying to operate something that 'primitive'.

"You're probably insulting your ancestors, you know." I let out a little chuckle. "One of them had to have fished before, at least."

"Exactly, my ancestors who are long dead and buried in unmarked graves, somewhere in the bottle of the ocean or cremated." He waved his hand dismissively. "Sucks to be them, lucky me."

"So, where are you from Gerald?" I leaned off the window, shifting my feet. "And what do you do? I know that you're some sort of scientist, but… what exactly is it you do for a living?"

"Terra Nova, not that you ever heard of it. As for me, I rob tombs for a living."

"Like Lara Croft?" A grin twitched on my mouth, mirth playing along my features. I knew the joke would go right over his head, considering that game is technically as old as I am. Still, it was funny to think of him as a descendant of the British, big bosomed raider of tombs. Weird, too.

A brief look of confusion flashed across his face before it was gone, replaced by indifference. "Who?"

Yep. All my references will fail to be understood now.

God, this must be what Captain America felt like.

Was I going to have to write up a list of the things I needed to research? Up to date pop culture references among them. Historical figures, a whole bunch of them. Learn how the currency worked, how to interact with aliens without insulting them, how an omni-tool worked, hell I bet even the TVs and freaking showers were different- it was like I had to be taught almost from scratch.

Great.

"Don't worry." I shrugged it off, though still felt a bit sad that no one would know the classic icon besides me from now on. I supposed it was normal, but still a bit disappointing. "Just some video game character from my… era."

The words felt strange, like they didn't sound right coming from my mouth. My era. I sounded like an old lady trying to talk to a young person who didn't do their history homework. _Guess I have to get used to it. _

"Try to catch up." He offhandedly noted.

I scoffed, scratching the side of my head. "It's not as easy as you claim."

I had played Mass Effect. But that was quite a while ago. I had the usual knowledge that was pretty common. Personal little details from the codex, on the other hand… I got a bit lazy and skipped reading. Maybe I shouldn't have.

"Precisely. So…" Gerald reached behind him, digging for something in his back pocket before tossing it to me. I fumbled and barely caught it. "Here you go. Your new best friend. Learn how to use it, love it and have fun."

It was a… wristband?

It was a narrow band, small and a faint orange colour. I held it in my hand, unsure what to say. Gerald didn't exactly seem like the type to care about fashionable accessories, but I felt rude not thanking him. "Oh… thank you?"

"Judging by the look of utter cluelessness on your face, I presume you never seen it before. So just to help you improve your sad little life by a bit, it is what we in our current day and age call an omni-tool." He explained. Holy shit. When I opened my mouth to speak, he intervened. "Don't ask me how it works because I wouldn't explain, all you need to know is it… well, frankly it doesn't matter either way so just figure out how to use the bloody thing. Oh and…" He reached back and tossed something else at me. "You'll need this to use it."

A glove. Very thin material. Light weight and hardly noticeable in my palm. See-through with white fingertips and a white outline. It kind of reminded me of _Tron. _

Excitement bubbled in my chest as I stared down at the wristband, any negative feelings I had were momentarily wiped away with the distraction in my hand. _Holy crap. My own freaking omni-tool._

I slid it onto my left wrist almost uncertainly, eager to use it but still unsure of how to use it. I put the glove on my right hand. It was a little warm, but barely noticable when I put it on. I experimented, putting my finger over the wristband. I touched it with the tip of my finger and jumped with a startled cry when a sudden orange holographic screen jumped out.

_Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. This is amazing._

"Holy crap!" I echoed my thoughts with excitement, my voice reaching a higher, slightly pitched octave, gaping down at the omni-tool. A grin spread from ear to ear on my face as I peered down at the faintly glowing omni-tool, waiting to be used and abused by me. "This is so cool!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes at my excitement over some object that probably every baby in this universe would've been familiar to. "There's an instruction manual on the thing if your brain can't handle its complexity, a tiny blueprint of the ship for you to find your way around, a little call function so you can call someone whenever you want someone to tell you a bedtime story and a folder full of vintage porn. Enjoy."

Ignoring him, I tapped at the screen, it pretty much opened the same way anything new would. Unidentified user. To proceed, please type your name.

My heart dropped in disappointment. I frowned at this, sighing. Shaking it off, I looked up at Gerald. I felt a little pathetic admitting this aloud. "I don't know my name."

"Try: The Insufferable Twit."

I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling my mouth press into a scowl.

He ignored me. "Feel free to come up with something better, but until then, 'The Insufferable Twit' will suffice."

"Don't get used to that nickname." I huffed. The blinking of the omni-tool moved my attention back to it. I couldn't think of a name to give it right now. I supposed I could always change it later if I remembered. But I definitely wasn't going to put what he said.

_Lone Wanderer_? I suppressed a snort. _This isn't Fallout._

"Why that is an excellent idea." For once, Gerald brightened up. Creeeepy… "I think I'll call you twit from now on. Seems fitting considering the circumstances."

"Fitting?" My nose scrunched, I craned my head to look up at the odd man. "How is _twit fitting?"_

"You lack even the most basic knowledge of the modern world… Its just a polite way for me to call you a fool, lets leave it there."

"It's not exactly _my_ fault." I grumbled, then raked the gloved hand through my hair to keep it out of my face. _It definitely isn't my fault. Being thrown willingly two hundred years into the future- into a different freaking dimension doesn't seem like a very pleasant thing to do. _

"Yeah well, until something changes, get used to 'twit'." He shrugged, turning away, waving his hand absent-mindedly. "Have fun."

"Wait," he stopped, but didn't turn around. He only shifted his head to the side. "Thank you."

I genuinely meant it. I was pretty sure he didn't want to talk to me, that he was probably forced to by Kylie so it would stop him from throwing me out of the airlock (I hope he wasn't serious about that) but I was sure he didn't have to give me the omni-tool.

I took a step away from the window, rubbing my arm. "For what it's worth… you made me feel a little better. Not by much… but it helped. So thanks."

"Ugh, don't you start crying on me twit. Or I swear to God I will-"

"Toss me out the airlock, I know, I know." I held my hands up a little in mock surrender. "I was just thanking you, no tears, it's not a sappy movie moment, don't worry. They make me cringe too. Go on, I'll go back to this amazing piece of beauty here."

_This awesome, amazing omni-tool that is mine. Holy balls this is so cool._

Somewhere ahead, there was a hiss as the door closed behind Gerald.

_Now… what name to type…_

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><p><strong><em>Poor girl. No name yet. Will she ever remember?<em>**

Don't worry, she will be called something so she can be addressed by others so it won't be too confusing x']

**_The Alliance Base isn't too far away! _**

**_Remember to show your support by leaving a review! :']_**

**_*Heartsign*_**


	6. Chapter 6- Tales of the Old

_**Chapter 6- Tales of the Old**_

_**2182, Forscher.**_

_**Day 1**_

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><p>I liked the moon.<p>

While I didn't have a lot of fond memories springing at me, the one where I sat at my window sill and stared at the stunning, silver moon certainly stood out. In a way, I could sympathize my situation with it. Despite the planet not actually having any emotions- and not really being alive. It was just there. Surrounded by all these amazing stars and yet it was isolated so far away it's own gigantic space.

I was tempted to put 'Lost Girl' as I was a fan of Peter Pan, or even EVE from WALL-E. There was even Aurora from Sleeping Beauty or Snow White, since I've been asleep in that ice coffin, but I figured I might as well go with my first choice.

Luna meant moon.

And I liked the moon.

So I chose to put the name Luna in my omni-tool, just for now. It was a brief alias until I remembered my name, just a label for someone to address me.

Usually, when the symbol of a buffer wheel spun in front of me I would feel nothing but irritation, but I strangely welcomed the familiar sight. I crossed my legs on the cream coloured sofa and I patiently waited. It didn't take long. Not at all. It was just a brief flash.

Hello, Miss Luna, please put in the correct time and date.

It occurred to me, I didn't know the exact date. I also didn't know what to put for the time. How did one tell the time when they weren't on earth? I wasn't sure how it worked.

With a reluctant sigh, I pulled myself up and walked out of the room. Someone could tell me, if I asked them. I wasn't going to ask Gerald, not wanting to put up with the condescending look he would greet me with as a reply. Kylie was busy flying the ship to make sure we didn't crash and die.

Figuring I couldn't just sit here cluelessly, I followed a corridor until I came across a place called the mess hall. There was a human man and salarian sitting at a table. The salarian was blinking his wide eyes at the gloop in front of him that looked like a disgusting over-lumpy oatmeal while the man was dipping his spoon into it and playing around with the slime in his own bowl.

The salarian was too distracted staring into his food (if you can call it that) while the man looked up and noticed me hesitantly standing in the doorway. They didn't seem busy or anything, but maybe they didn't feel like talking to me. I didn't get the feeling I was unwelcome, but he didn't exactly wave me over.

Maybe he was as unsure of me as I was of him.

I gnawed on my cheek and decidedly took a step in the room. My lips struggled to lift at the corners for a moment, but I forced them into a friendly greeting. "Hello! Can I… can I sit in here with you?"

He simply gestured at one of the empty ones around. "Take your pick."

I shuffled over to a seat and sat down crossed legged on the chair. I didn't sit too close to them, for fear of invading their personal space. When I tried to strike up a question about the omni-tool or just attempt at any civil conversation, a lump formed in my throat and I clamped my mouth firmly shut. My head bent over the orange tool, quietly becoming frustrated as I gazed at the time and date.

I chewed on my bottom lip and my fingers drummed nervously against my knee.

I couldn't use it until I filled them in.

God dammit.

"You going to just sit there or…?" He asked, cocking up an eyebrow at me. What's his name again?

"Sorry." I coughed to clear my throat and sheepishly scratched the side of my head and raked a hand through my hair before placing the omni-tool on the table. "I-I was wondering if you could help me… with this…?"

"You need to be more specific than that I'm afraid." He replied, removing his and placing mine in its place and turning it on. "Everything seems to be working fine to me."

"I…" After letting out a disgruntled groan, I forced the words through my teeth. My face flushed. "I can't use it until I put the date and time."

"Galactic standard or Earth time?"

"Uh…" I didn't even understand how the Galactic standard worked. "Earth."

He tapped a couple buttons. Less than ten seconds later he powered off and slipped it off his hand. "Done."

Taking the omni-tool back, a slight weight lifted off my shoulders. If I had asked Gerald he would have never let me live it down. "Thank you."

"A pleasure." He shrugged.

"Sorry, what was your name?" I felt a little awkward asking, but at least I would know now.

Hazel eyes flickered up to meet mine, to my relief he didn't seem offended. "That'll be Anders. Short for Andersmith but just Anders. Resident dumb muscle."

With a bob of my head, I turned my gaze to the salarian, once again trying not to stare. "And… and you?"

"Communications specialist, life support operator and occasional lab assistant." He quickly snapped before pointing at Anders. "Engineering."

"What about your name?"

"Telok Tadril." He said it so simply, I knew if I tried to pronounce it I would end up offending him.

Settling with a nod, I propped my elbows on the table and leaned on them. I didn't know what conversation topics to bring up right now. I couldn't exactly comment on the weather either, being on a hunk of metal flying through space. I couldn't bring any movie references like _Alice in Wonderland _or _The Wizard of Oz_ to suit the situation because I doubted they would know what I was talking about. I could ask where they're from, but I wouldn't have a big idea on where they'd be talking about.

Dammit, maybe I should have put 'Captain America' in my omni-tool and have it address me as Steve Rodgers. Though it'd be a tad awkward, considering I'm actually from England and a girl.

Hobbies? No… I doubted we had much in common. Hell, I didn't even really need to talk to them, I only came here so I could get help getting into my new omni-tool. Though, I knew another reason to speak with them, let them know that opening the pod wasn't a mistake. That I was grateful for them not leaving me to die or throwing me out the airlock as Gerald seemed to be obsessed with.

Kylie was mainly the one I wanted to thank, she reminded me of a mother figure in a way. Still, I think I wanted to show them that I was just a lost kid who didn't know what to make of her situation, that it wasn't my fault, that they were right to open the pod and let me live.

I didn't know if it was my fault. Was it? I couldn't have volunteered to be thrown into an ice coffin without knowing if I would come out of it alive. I didn't remember much of my identity, but I knew that as a sane person and searching through the memories of what I did have, I wouldn't want this.

I still was struggling to accept this was the universe of _Mass Effect_.

It was obvious. Literally staring me in the face, like this salarian. Hard to ignore. I didn't want to accept it, but I didn't have a choice. The longer I was here, the more I realized this wasn't a dream, even it it bloody felt like one.

Just to triple check, I subtly pinched my arm. The only response I got was a small sting.

_Nothing._

_Yep. Not dreaming._

_Shit. Fuck me up a mountain._

_Don't think about it. Just… pick a random topic for idle chat._

"So…" Lifting a hand, I brushed the stray strands of blonde hair out of my face and flickered my inquisitive gaze at Anders. He was chewing his meal. The chipmunk cheeks lessened as he swallowed his food. "What's today's music like? I imagine it's changed a little?"

His shoulders gave a simple, short shrug. "I don't pay much attention to it."

"Please say rock still exists." Memories from Mass Effect could only recall the club music from Flux and Chora's Den, not much lyrical wise or anything purely written from the heart. The thought put a slight damper on my mood. "Oh God, please let jazz still be around..."

Anders lowered his head to look down at what he was prodding with his fork. The piece of meat rolled on his plate, he impaled it on the cutlery and shoved it in his mouth. His voice became slightly muffled as he ate. "Like I said, you are asking the wrong person."

I didn't know if it was just in my mind, but the quiet pauses in between our responses felt a tad awkward. _Not much of a talker, is he? Though, he is eating so maybe that's reasonable..._ "Do you not like music?"

I was a little disappointed by his words. "Not really, I just don't pay too much attention to it."

"Oh." I said simply and hunched over the table. I turned to the salarian next to Anders. _Drat, what is his name again? Tamlen? Tedrill… Tadril, I think__._ "What about you Tadril? Are you a fan of the arts, at all? Music or other."

I hoped to God people here weren't sheep of plain club or rave tunes. I didn't mind it every now and then in the background so it wasn't so silent it felt like I was deaf, my taste was varied and I was quite mixed. But if no one here liked _any _music at all then I wanted to get back home even more. There would be no hope for me to constantly listen to the same mind-numbing beat everywhere I went.

"Batarian artwork. Shame you don't see too many of those outside Khar'shan."

"Batarian art?" I had to play dumb because I wasn't supposed to know what a batarian was, but was genuinely a little baffled by the concept anyway.

Come to think of it, I hadn't actually seen any batarian art or any alien art in the games. I could faintly recall _something_ to do with it and a certain thief by the name of Kasumi in a loyalty mission but no proper details.

I admit, it would be pretty interesting to see some of the batarian culture. Curious at the idea, I bit into my bottom lip with a tilt of my head and briefly wondered what it would look like.

"Batarians are a four eyed green skin species who happens to hate our kind." Anders explained for me. My mouth thinned slightly into a line, eyebrows raising. Ah, I forgot they… hate us.

"Why?" I questioned, honestly wanting to know the answer. Little things like that had slipped my mind, I felt like I hadn't played the series in quite a few years (not including the ones I spent napping) and my brain was kind of hazy on the timeline and details.

He shrugged. "Maybe you should try asking one of them, they might have an answer."

"No matter where or when you are, twenty first century or a hundred years into the future, prejudice always manages to follow, it seems." Locks of hair ghosted over my bare arms when my body slouched forward over the table. I grumbled, a little disgruntled by the news of batarians automatically hating us.

I seriously couldn't remember much and that scared me a little. Most of the franchise was like a faint dream, the plot was clear but the scenes playing out was a tad foggy. It either had really been that long or this confused, organized mess in my brain came with the amnesia blocking me.

"Depends on who you ask, really."

I decided I didn't really want to talk about the batarian's level of hatred for our kind or xenophobia so I shook my head and changed the topic. "Earlier, Kylie mentioned we're going to the Alliance, do you know how long it'll take to get there?"

My stomach tightened, a sharp talon of anxiety clutching to my insides. I wasn't very enthusiastic about meeting the head of Alliance, nervous on what they'd plan to do with me. _They can't just throw me on the streets on Earth or something, can they?_

"Thirty six hours."

A day and a half, then. That gave me a little time to brace myself and become presentable so I wasn't a stuttering mess while introducing myself to them and pleading for my case not to be chucked aside on the streets like a homeless, abandoned orphan. There must be something I can work out with them. I didn't know what, though.

"How do you think they'd… react to someone like me?" My concern was fully worn on my sleeve. I shifted in my seat and felt creases deepen on my forehead.

"They will not dissect you if that's what you are worried about." Obviously they overheard Gerald talking about cutting me open for study and probably thought I was paranoid the Alliance was going to be like that.

Despite knowing better, I still gave a sigh of relief. A weight lifted from my lungs, allowing me to breathe. "Oh. Good, that's good."

"How are things back in the twenty first century? Was the war as bad as the history books say?"

"Which one?"

"The one with Germany?"

I paused, frowning. "The… world war one?"

The salarian cuts in, sending him a look of aggravation. "That's the twentieth century, idiot. I'm not human and I know your history better than you do."

"I got an F, not my fault the teacher was shit."

"Don't you have the… do you call it the internet? The web?" I asked, pursing my lips together.

"Extranet."

"Yeah, that."

"I can't be bothered to look it up."

_Fair enough._

I wasn't exactly a history major but I knew a fair bit from class, so I sat there explaining everything to him, finally having something to talk about other than batarian art with the salarian. He seemed a little interested in the tale as well, glancing up every so often and munching on his face.

Of all things I'd ever think I'd do, explaining the famous World War's in the future to scientists who found me in an ice coffin after a hundred and sixty years wasn't on my mind.

But I enjoyed it.

For now, I could relax.

However, meeting the Alliance gave me a nagging feeling in the back of my head.

I hope it goes well...

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><p><strong><em>Alliance next chapter ;']<em>**

**_Thank you all so much for the reviews, guy. Seriously. I love you :']_**

**_This chapter is a bit short but the next will be longer I promise (heartsign)_**


	7. Chapter 7- A New Beginning

**_Chapter 7- A New _****_Beginning_**

**_2182, Forscher._**

**_Day 2_**

* * *

><p>Despite knowing that I should have gotten some shut eye, I just couldn't bring myself to jump into the sleeping pod. There was a throbbing nagging in the back of my head that I wouldn't wake up or I would either wake up another hundred years in the future. It was an irrational fear but I couldn't shake the horrible feeling something bad would happen. The idea it could happen again was less than wanted, it sent an icy chill down the back of my spine.<p>

When I twisted my neck away from the stars to look over at the sleeping pod, there was a small pooling of dread that churned in my gut. I clenched my sleeves around my knuckles and released a heavy sigh.

"_Entering atmosphere. Hey kid, if you want a view, feel free to come up here_."

At the sound of Kylie's voice, I fidgeted nervously in my spot against the giant glass plane and forced my eyes to turn to the outside once more. It still kinda scared me to look out the window but I also found it absolutely breath-taking and incredible.

_Keep calm. You can do this._

I stretched my body out with a yawn and turned around, swinging my legs off the seat and putting my feet on the floor. When I looked down at the ground, my hair fell in my face. I felt my insides coil uneasily and crossed my arms across my torso. With a heavy sigh I pushed myself to walk out of the room and head towards the helm.

With caution, I approached behind her and gripped the back of her chair for support, eyes searching outside for the said view. When I did, my stomach did backflips, my eyes widened to the size of plates and my heart catapulted into oblivion. _Holy shit_.

The first thing I noticed was seven cone shaped leviathan sized towers that seemed to reach up to the cloud, below them a sprawling metropolis that surrounded them. White skyscrapers with near sapphire blue windows shined in the distance, easily putting any of the ones back home to shame, with heavy air traffic between them. Beyond that, rolling fields of greenery, verdant hills and a massive lake in the far distance.

Smaller settlements dotted the surface, alongside clear roads and river crossings. A few vehicles, land vehicles, not the flying ones in the distance could be seen. Some large and lumbering offroad, others, much smaller, never straying from it.

A massive spacecraft, around thrice the size of the one I'm in, advance from the distance at great speeds. For a moment, I stiffen, worried and wondering if we were going to collide, my my fears soon proved to be unfounded, as it passed us on the right with around a quarter of a mile between us.

Still, it looked damn close.

"Beautiful, right?" Kylie's voice broke me out of my trance. "Eden Prime is one of the first human colonies. It's said to be a peaceful paradise."

The hair on the back of my neck rose.

_Wait._

_Did she just say Eden Prime?_

_Well, spank Saren and call him Shirley. _

I gawked for probably a good five minutes and could feel panic engulfing me before I recalled that the Geth attack on Eden Prime was in _2183_, not _2182_. I was safe.

For now.

_Thank God._

She momentarily lifted her hand, quickly pointing out the buildings. "Those towers in the distance are archaeologies. I don't think it ever got close to being implemented in your era, merely some drawing on an artist's board. Now? Just look at that."

"It's amazing." I meant it too. Seeing all these futuristic designs and inventions brought to life in front of me called to the sci-fi fangirl giddily hyperventilating inside me. It really was like a dream. Everything around me was so surreal and just so _epic_.

In the game, it really didn't do it justice. Everything was false, everything was pixels. A mere idealistic concept of what could be if humanity found a way to branch out in the universe and possibly meet other species.

A pounding suddenly started to throb in my skull until the point it passed the 'irritating' stage into the 'pain' stage. I doubled over slightly and gripped the sides of my head with gritted teeth. A groan slipped out of my throat when nausea hit me like a sledgehammer. I back pedalled, tripping over my feet, then I fell to the ground on my back. Everything around me span, blurring.

A hazy fog clouded my eyes and there was suddenly a face, then a body, then a memory.

_I was sitting on a swing. My fingers loosely wrapped around the cold, curved chains keeping me up. My feet slightly rolled on the pavement, gently pushing me forward and pulling me back. There was a soft, cool breeze ghosting over my cheeks. My nose was tinged pink from the autumn weather, goosebumps spiking on my skin._

_The area was covered in meshes of brown, yellow and red as amber leaves fell to the pile below on the grass, pooling around the tall, arching tree. Their roof, which only held hints of faint green was dying. Birds whistled to match their tune with the whispering of bushes, which danced in the breeze. _

_A large, spacious plane of grass surrounded the park, which was engaged in a rusty yellow railing. The gate occasionally squeaked, opening and closing as it gently swayed. I spotted a bystander walking their dalmatian. The spotted dog sniffed the ground and cocked up a leg, deciding to prey on that particular tree._

_"You have to admit, it would be awesome." I glanced to the side at my friend, who was standing against the old red frame of the swings. "If Aliens existed."_

_"Think about it Nate. If we're on their diet, then it wouldn't be so 'awesome'." I threw back with air quotes, scuffing the tip of my boot against the concrete. I leaned back on the swing boredly, holding the chains to support me. _

_He shook his head, thick black hair glinting brown eyes drifting to the side. The corners of his mouth twitched into a small smile. "Such a pessimist."_

_I grinned and poked out my tongue teasingly in his direction. Nate rolled his eyes, then opened his mouth to speak. But it wasn't his voice._

"Kid?" A hand waved in front of my face. Nate's face sizzled into the background, fading into more feminine features. The black locks framing his square-ish face melted to red, his jaw transforming to a heart-shape. Her brow furrowed, mouth turning down into a concerned frown as she knelt beside me. "Are you alright?"

"_53960, reduce speed 210, then descend and maintain 6000._"

My pulse reverberated in my ears, heart hammering heavily against my ribs. Distantly, I heard Kylie snap off a quick reply to whoever's that's on the other side. I blinked several times to adjust my eyes to the light and let out a groan, pressing the surface of my palms into my sockets. "Y-yeah, I think so."

"Are you sure?" Kylie moved forward, wrapping her arm around my back to help me sit up. My back whined in protest when I moved it, having bruised myself from the harsh metal floor. She tilted her head, peering down at me with a worried glint in her eyes. "You fell and spaced out there for a second."

"I…" My skull throbbed. Nate's dark eyes burned an imprint in my mind. My gut squeezed. "I remembered something… _someone_."

"What?" She perked up, doing a double take at first before giving me a grin. "That's wonderful! What was it?"

"I, uh… a… I think he was a friend of mine." Sharply inhaling, I reached up a hand to my temple. A grimace pinched in my features. "His name was Nate."

"What was the memory?"

"We were… we were in the park," I recalled, squinting in concentration. "We were talking about something… what it would be like for aliens to exist? I think."

"Hmm, interesting…" she pressed her lips together then shook her head. "Come on, kid. _Upsy Daisy_." The red headed woman went behind me, put her hands under my armpits and helped me get back on my feet. She let me lean on her. "If that's the case, then it may be possible your memories can be triggered by certain sights and smells."

_"Civilian vessel registry CSV-53960, be advised that this spaceport does not support autodocking. Switch to manual or go around."_

Kylie wrapped her arm around my waist, leading me to a chair. I sighed in relief when I sat down, she took her place at the pilot's seat and I assumed she took the ship off autopilot before glancing over at me with a comforting smile.

"I'm sure the rest of your memories will follow suit." She offered reassuringly.

_Hopefully._

"Constant Spaceport Ground, civilian vessel registry CSV-53960, on final."

"_Copy that, you are cleared to touch on landing pad 14 Bravo._"

"Right, well…" Kyle turned to smile at me. "I guess this is it. Welcome to a whole new world."

Outside, the city got closer as we neared, allowing me to see things in greater clarity. The ship turned slightly, tilted actually from what I could see from the cockpit window, but I didn't feel it. Approaching what I believed to be the spaceport, judging from the multiple ships docked or taking off there, along with five more of the massive ones that passed us earlier. She took us to one of the empty platforms, then for the first time since stepping on board, I felt the ship shake gently during the initial descend.

Then the ship stopped, Kylie tapping her few buttons before sighing and getting up.

"Welcome to Constant, Eden Prime."

"What happens now?" I was still nervous, wringing my hands anxiously as I lowered my head to stare at my shoes. _Calm down. Calm down._ "Are you coming with me?"

"You get taken away and dissected." Gerald answered, stepping into the cockpit as Kylie was about to reply to me, instead gritted her teeth in annoyance. She sharply narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "I've already notified the authorities before we entered atmosphere, so there should be quite a welcome party waiting for you."

"Pay him no mind." She walked towards me, putting a hand on his shoulder to push him out of her way. Kylie held out her hand. "Come on. Of course I'm going with you."

"Don't forget to suit up before you step outside, least of all someone coughs into your face and make you fatally ill." Gerald innocently looked over at Kyle when she once again glared at him. "What? It would be pointless to keep her alive only to let her die a death as pitiful as a quarian's lifestyle. I'm not that twisted."

I took her offered hand. She put her arm around me, encouraging me forward. We walked to a private room for her to help me get the suit on and make sure there were no holes or anything to risk exposure. The suit was kind of tight, with a few layers as well as a backup in case there was a tear to give me time to fix it.

This whole thing combined made me nervous. If I get a hole in my suit, there's a possibility of me catching something deadly and dying from it. I didn't really want to go outside if this was the case but knew I had to. I couldn't stay in the ship forever. People were waiting to discover what this so called living relic was, after all.

It was strange to think of myself as a living relic, but there was some truth to that.

I hoped we got my shots first, I didn't want to be introduced to them like this.

I felt kind of like a quarian.

When we approached the decontamination area, Kylie stepped forward, placing the helmet into place. It hissed, sealing the outside air away from me. I sniffed, the sound echoed slightly. _If I got an itch on my face, that'll be the worst thing ever. Oh god, what if I sneeze…?_

God knew how the quarian people handled that.

_Do quarian even sneeze?_

The airlock opened.

_… I feel overdressed. _

It was silly worrying over how people would see my fashion style. I had a reasonable excuse after all. But even then, it felt weird being the only one in a full body hardsuit while everyone else was in either formal or casual clothing. The former before me, four of them, two of each gender . The latter beside me.

"This her?" One of them asked in a gentle tone. "Why is she…"

"Weak immune system. For her own safety really."

Once again feeling nervous, I shifted from one foot to the other but lifted a hand and awkwardly waved with a polite smile, before realizing they can't see my face through the black tinted helmet and drop the strained expression. Nonetheless, I still remembered my manners and greeted them in a friendly manner. "Hello."

They blinked before the one in front nodded to me. "Hello to you too. Welcome to Eden Prime. I guess you can say that we are your hosts for your stay here. In a way."

"Oh… um..." I glanced uncertainly at Kylie, who gave me an encouraging smile. I turned back to them and lifted my arms, giving them a thumbs up since I couldn't express any smiles through my helmet. "Cool."

One of them stepped forward, a balding man with hazel eyes, a long nose and oblong jaw. His shoulders held back confidently, his stance seemed practiced and disciplined. "Poloko Meyers, Alliance representative. With me are Melissa Walker, Eden Prime Colonial Parliament," The said woman he gestured to had straight black hair in a tight bun and bright green eyes with intense freckles marring her pale face, mainly splattered over her slightly crooked nose. She nodded in acknowledgement.

"Erwin Svankov, he's from Arzt Hospital and he'll be overlooking all of your health concerns." The man in question straightened at his mention, strong arms stationed across his lean torso.

Erwin had olive toned skin, and looked young, in his twenties possibly. His dark hair was tousled and medium length, framing his strong jawline. There was also thin scar marking the right side of his face, curving from his eyebrow in a 'c' shape to his cheekbone before reaching to his neck.

He silently observed me with piercing grey eyes, burning his cold gaze to my helmet. Slightly uncomfortable and feeling my gut twist tightly, I looked away.

Erwin was definitely an odd match for his appearance, not the kind of name I'd associate with him at first glance. With that kind of name I would have thought it would fit with a nerdy, lanky teenager. Not some muscular, tough doctor guy with a scar on his face.

"And my secretary, Okura Ishibashi." The last one was a Japanese woman. She tucked her arms behind her back before Okura raised her chin and I saw dark chocolate eyes staring at me in curiosity. Her silky black hair was combed back into a low ponytail, clothes tidy and neat.

I didn't exactly want to introduce myself as Luna as it felt like a private video game name that one used for an MMO or something. It was just for my omni-tool to address me as. For some reason I was kind of embarrassed to introduce myself as that, so I simply licked my dry lips and cleared my throat, telling the truth.

"I would tell you my name, but…" my hand dropped to my side, I averted my eyes. Even telling them I didn't know who I was, was still embarrassing. "I don't know."

"Temporary amnesia," Kylie confirmed, bobbing her head towards Poloko. _Man, that's a weird name. I'm going to have a tough time saying it with a straight face. I want to shout out Marco but I have a feeling he won't find it funny._ "As I stated in the report forwarded to you."

The American man gave a curt nod. "Well then, the first order of business is to fix that immune system of yours now. Come on then, we have a vehicle waiting."

_God, it's not a mako is it? Riding in those things doesn't seem fun._

He seemed to mistake my anxiety for something else. "And don't worry, we kept you on the down low, so you wouldn't be mobbed by reporters the second you step outside."

Despite that not being what I was worried about, the news still brought me some relief and partly removed the anchor pressing on my lungs. Kylie put her hand on my lower back, guiding me to follow them while walking along side me.

* * *

><p>I breathed a sigh of relief as I was finally allowed to remove the tight suit I had to wear. A part of me felt bad for the quarians, having to wear such things for all their life while having it on for less than two hours already made me more than happy to be stripped of it. Its bloody uncomfortable, plus hearing myself breathe in that thing every second really started to rack my mind after some time.<p>

The doctor raised his arm as he entered the room after I was done, pointing over to a chair that looked more like a bed, tilting diagonally. His faintly accented voice had a deep, husky baritone, slightly cold as he addressed me. "Lie down over there. I need to do some readings before getting started on anything."

Erwin whipped out a pair of black rimmed glasses, then slid them onto his face while moving over toward a terminal. I did as he said, lying down on what that seemed to be a futuristic MRI looking machine, watching him tap a few things into it. His eyes narrowed, eyebrows pulling together.

A second later there was a sound, then I felt the thing I'm lying on move, bringing me inside the machine.

The cramped space put me on edge, I hastily put my hand on the wall and pushed myself off. "W-wait."

His icy eyes peer over his glasses, giving me a piercing look of irritation that unsettled my stomach, setting free a cage of butterflies. "What is it?"

"Do I have to go in there?" I could hear my heart racing in my ears. I wasn't that keen on cramped spaces after being in that pod for so long. Granted, I wasn't awake but the feeling of being trapped was horrible.

He stared at me for a minute, then arched an eyebrow and sighed. "Do you want to be wearing a suit twenty four seven for the rest of your life and hooked on antibiotics?"

_Well... when he puts it like that..._

"...No." I reluctantly answered. He adjusted his glasses, sliding them up his nose and looked back down at his terminal.

"Then try not to move too much. That equipment is _very_ expensive."

The interior of the machine was suddenly bathed in blue light as a bright orange laser came on over my head, washing, scanning over me as it went from one end to the other. I felt a slight prick on my right arm as something poked it, drawing a bit of blood.

"Medical disaster?" I heard him mutter on the outside. "More like a medical catastrophe."

I couldn't tell how long time had passed while inside the thing, but it definitely wasn't short. More than a couple of times, I had nearly nodded off from the boredom of being made to just lie still and being unable to do anything. Finally, after an excruciatingly long period of time, I felt myself being moved again. The stinging sensation of the ceiling lights shining into my eyes was an almost welcome relief compared to the blue and orange of earlier.

"Well, this was certainly enlightening..." I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

_Let's get this over with__._ "Bad news."

His eyes flickered to me. "A bit of genetic therapy may be required. Intensive ones actually, so you'll have to go under the knife."

At his words, I freeze up at look over at him in disbelief, searching his face to see if it was a bad joke. When his expression remained stoic my pulse ran faster, catapulting into space.

_What_? "Excuse me?"

"You'll need cybernetics to artificially boost your immune systems while the genetic therapy slowly strengthens it to be up to par with current standards." He coolly answered, lips in a thin line. "Worse case scenario, a sample of your bone marrow may be needed, but hopefully it doesn't come to that."

I felt myself pale. _Bone marrow?_

The orange glow illuminated his face, I could see his steel gaze darting left to right as he read some of the data.

"There is also the possibility that your body may violently reject the treatment but of course, it is highly unlikely so don't worry about that." He added offhandedly, typing something into his omni-tool. His words did nothing to calm my nerves. I supposed it was better than ignorance.

"Perfect." I muttered, letting my hands fall into my lap as his answer slowly sunk in. I swallowed. "When is this treatment going to start?"

"Under normal circumstances, the waiting time for the treatment would be three months, but since this is a direct request from the higher ups, sometime between the next one to three hours if you accept."

I didn't really have a choice. If I refused the treatment, then I'd probably catch something and die. Being a human-quarian for the rest of my life wasn't appealing, so I braced myself and met his eyes. Bats fluttered inside me at the thought of going under the knife. I had to trust he wouldn't fail, that I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the surgery and feel the pain of them cutting inside of me.

A worse scenario was imagining myself unable to move, unable to tell them I was awake, then them cutting into me without realizing the agony they were causing.

It was always a fear of mine, having surgery. You were literally putting your life into a stranger's hands. If they slipped, if they moved one inch to the right, _one mistake_ and they could kill me.

The idea of it always sent a shiver down my spine.

I wanted to say no, I wanted to stay away from that.

However, if I wanted to live a normal- well, as relatively normal life as I could get _here_- then I'd have to go through it with.

Anxiously, I straightened my spine and felt my shoulders tense but gave him a sharp nod to confirm I wanted to do this.

_Well, I don't want to… but I _need_ to._

"I'll do it."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Longer chapter :D<strong>_

_**Possibly a longer one next time. I hope you guys enjoyed it ^_^**_

_**I know this is a bit of a slow story, but I hope you guys can bare with it and stick with me and her in her adventure to the ME verse :']**_

_**Chapter 22 soon, for UM. If you haven't checked it out, it's another Self-Insert for ME, going through a different route through Omega.**_

_**~Elle**_


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